KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasNew Clinic Hopes to Offer Free Health Care to Needy
The estimates are that a half a million people here in Nevada don't have health insurance. But if the dream of a Las Vegas doctor comes true, those uninsured people will soon have somewhere to go.
There is a new clinic in the works that will help everyone -- even the smallest victims -- children. This affects everyone. The uninsured often go to emergency rooms for care. That drives up the cost for you, the taxpayer as well as your insurance rates.
More than five Nevadans between 25 and 64 die every week because they don't have health insurance. It's staggering statistics like this that local doctors say has to change.
In her 22 years of private practice, Dr. Florence Jameson has never forgotten where she came from.
"My father went to prison and my mother raised five of us single handedly and as a result, she could just make ends meet. There wasn't money available for medical care. She often went back to the family practice doctor that delivered us, and he very kindly said don't worry about it when we had really hard times," she said.
Dr. Jameson wants to help others who faced the same challenges she did growing up. And she's not just talking about it. She's taking action. Dr. Jameson is spearheading an effort to open a clinic called Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada. It will offer free health care to those who need it.
"What we're trying to do is reach the ones that are not eligible for Medicaid but cannot afford health insurance. They are just getting by," she said.
Dr. Jameson says the medical community has responded with open arms, and she already has dozens of doctors like Dr. Jerry Jones who are willing to volunteer their time.
"In private practice, you have to make money to pay your bills but in a clinic setting, you can volunteer your time two hours a day, two hours a week, two hours a month and it's pretty much free of overhead and expense for us," said Dr. Jones.
As Dr. Jameson moves forward in making this clinic a reality, she remembers a commitment she made years ago.
"I made a pledge one day when I had a chance to give back, I would to those that are in a difficult situation as I once was," said Dr. Jameson.
The doctors who volunteer their time will be protected from liability under a federal program.
Dr. Jameson doesn't have a location for the Volunteers in Medicine clinics yet. They have their eye on a building located near Tropicana and Pecos, but nothing is official yet. They hope to have the first clinic open by December, 2008.
Email your comments to Reporter Colleen May.
