Community Free Clinic Newsletter

Prescription for Success

Vol. 1.4 - April 2007

Dr. Garabed A. Fattal Community Free Clinic

           President George W. Bush proclaimed April 15 – 21 as National Volunteer Week this year.  We chose that particular week to honor our clinic volunteers at a Volunteer Appreciation Night on April 18 at the Holiday Inn Arena.  The weather was not bad, considering we had a snow storm 2 days prior.  The food was great.  The company was even better.  Everyone spent a little time reminiscing over photos of past events and previous volunteers.  Those who couldn’t make it because of previous commitments were certainly missed. 

Governing Committee

            The first meeting of the recently established Governing Committee was held at 5:00 p.m. on March 27, 2007.  Dr. Davé explained the need for a Governing Committee is due primarily to the growth and subsequent changes of the Community Free Clinic over the last ten years.  The first order of business was a discussion of the current committee membership and the role this committee is expected to play.

            Dr. Davé stated the purpose of the Governing Committee should be to review and decide on clinic policies and procedures and oversee the clinic budget.  The Community Free Clinic must maintain certain policies and procedures regarding the hours the clinic is open, patient eligibility, quality of care, funding, etc.   

           The next meeting of the Governing Committee is scheduled for May 7, 2007 at 7:30 a.m.  Meetings will be scheduled every 6-8 weeks at 7:30 a.m. during spring, summer and fall, switching to a 5:00 p.m. meeting time during the winter months.

Doctor’s Day - 2007

           We wish to express our gratitude to The Broome County Medical Society for donating the proceeds of their annual Doctor’s Day event to the Community Free Clinic again this year. We certainly appreciate all the support we receive from this community.

New Faces At The Clinic

           More new faces appeared at the Community Free Clinic in April.  Please give these new people a warm welcome, if you haven’t already.

• Dr. Joseph Marino started volunteering at the clinic in April.  Dr. Marino is currently scheduled to work at the Community Free Clinic on the second Monday of each month.
• You may also have seen Dr. Dominick Prato at the clinic during April.  We expect to see more of Dr. Prato at the Free Clinic, now that he has retired from the VA clinic.
• Becky Smith has agreed to join our Monday night crew of pharmacy volunteers.  Hopefully we didn’t scare her off with that mountain-high pile of drug samples that had to be logged.
• Another new pharmacy volunteer started in April.  Barbara Mujuma, a Binghamton University student, is helping us out on Thursday nights.

Applebee’s Night – May 9, 2007

           We are participating in a fund raising activity that we have never tried before.  Applebee’s on Vestal Parkway will donate 10% of each customer’s bill to the Free Clinic on May 9th, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  The only requirement is that the customer must present a small paper voucher when paying the bill.  If you need an excuse to go out to dinner, this is it.  Make sure you take one of our vouchers with you.  If you can help us out by passing out vouchers to friends, family, co-workers, etc., please pick up a stack of vouchers at the clinic (ask Margaret), or come by the Clinical Campus, Mondays – Fridays (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.).

Congratulations to Dr. Chen

           Dr. Yong Chen, who has been helping us out at the Community Free Clinic since last summer, has two reasons to celebrate this month.  First, Dr. Chen found out that he has been accepted into the residency program at Wilson.  Secondly, Dr. Chen was sworn in as a United States citizen last week.  Congratulations are due for both accomplishments.

Patient Assistance Program

           So far this year, we have received almost $40,000 worth of drugs through the various Patient Assistance Programs offered by the major pharmaceutical companies.  That is $40,000 that our clinic did not have to spend on medications.  Please remember to check for those Brown Bags!  In April we started placing a reminder in the patient’s chart if there is a Brown Bag waiting in the pharmacy.  We can’t realize significant cost savings, if we don’t dispense these medications that we receive through the Patient Assistance Programs.

BCC Health Information Technology Students

           Through an agreement with Broome Community College, we have had eight students working this spring at Clinical Campus to fulfill part of their Clinical Affiliation assignments.  Each of these BCC students spends an entire week (six hours per day), entering patient visit data into our MedServices database.  Each patient visit is entered with appropriate ICD-9 diagnostic codes.  Through the commitment of these students, we will soon have valuable statistical information available on all our 2006 patient visits.

Albuterol Inhalers

           Through our membership in the National Association of Free Clinics, we were finally able to acquire a supply of Proventil inhalers.  This shipment of albuterol inhalers should help us provide for our asthma patients throughout the summer.  There has been a shortage of albuterol inhalers for more than a year, due to an EPA mandated reformulation of the product.

Newsletter Suggestions  

            Do you have an idea for our next newsletter, or something you would like more information about?  Would you like to contribute some news or a brief message to your clinic teammates?  Please send your comments, suggestions, and/or news items via email halterb@upstate.edu or fax to the Clinical Campus (772-3536)