Dr. Robertthoburnwrotethistestimonialabouthislong-Timevolunteerserviceatacornclinic. Dr

July 8, 2016

Dr. RobertThoburnwrotethistestimonialabouthislong-timevolunteerserviceatACORNClinic. Dr. ThoburnisalsoACORNClinic’sJuneVolunteeroftheMonth.

HealthcareintheUnitedStatescoststwiceasmuchasitdoesinotherdevelopedcountriessuchasCanada, NewZealandandtheUnitedKingdom. Additionally, halfofallhealthcarespendinggoestowardsonlyfivepercentoftheAmericanpopulation. Statisticssuchasthese, aresomeofthemanyreasonswhyaplacelikeACORNClinic, inAlachuaCountynortheastofGainesville, existstohelplow-incomefamilieswhoneedhealthcarebutareunabletoaffordit. Whenyouhearapatientsay, “ACORNClinicsavedmylife” youcanimaginetheClinic’slastingimpactforthemandtheirfamilies. Thismeansthatgrandparentscanhavemoretimewiththeirgrandchildren, parentscanhavebetterqualitytimewiththeirchildren, andkidscanjustbekids.

Dr. Thoburn (farright), along-timevolunteerforACORNClinic, withhisgrandsons (fromleft) Adam, Koen, andConnorwhiletrekkingtheAndes.

Ihavevolunteeredforover 15 yearsprovidingcareasarheumatologisttreatingarthritisandautoimmunediseasesatACORNMedicalClinic. ACORNClinicisanoasis, aplacewherepeopleinneedcancomeforhealthcare, withsome, butnotallthesolutionstotheirhealthproblems. Thecliniciscontinuallyseekingnewwaysofprovidingthecarethatourpatientsneedanddeserve. Inadditiontotreatment, clinicstaffandvolunteerssupportpatientsinmakinghealthychoicesintheirlifestyle, whichcanmakeanenormousdifferenceintheirqualityoflife. Asaspecialistinafieldbenefitingfromnewunderstandingofgeneticandmolecularcomponentsofdisease, Ibelievethatpatienteducationinthediseaseprocessandactionoftheirmedicationshasneverbeenmoreimportant.

ThedelightfulpatientsattendingtheACORNCliniccomefromallovertheregion. Theyareprimarilythosethat, forvariousreasons, lackanabilitytopayorhavenohealthinsurance. Manyhavenothadgoodeducationalopportunitiesorotherhindrancesplacingthematahigherriskfordisease. Somehavephysicalormentaldisabilitiesthatpreventthemfromhavinggainfulemployment.

Combinedwithinsuranceandfinancialproblems, itcanbequitechallengingtofindwaysofdiagnosingandtreatingthesepatients. Labtests, X-rays, imagingstudies, consultationsandhospitalizationcanbeexpensive. Similarlygettingphysicalandoccupationaltherapy, dietaryadvice, psychologicalcounselingandotherhealthcarecanbechallenging. DevelopingcreativealternativesispartofthechallengeandstimulationofvolunteeringasaphysicianatACORNClinic. Unfortunately, somehealthcareadvancesarestilloutofreachformanyoftheClinic’spatients.

Despitethesechallenges, itisgratifyingtovolunteeratACORNformanyreasons. Forexample, thereisampletimetoseeeachpatient, allowthemtotellyouwhatiswrongwiththem, anddodeepdivesintotheirmedical, social, genetic, andpsychologicalenvironment. Thefamilysituation, livingconditions, children’sproblems, singleparenting, mentalillness, education, anddisabilitycanrelatetotheirmedicalconditionanditsoutcome.

ACORNhasalsogivenmetheopportunitytodelvemoredeeplyintomanyofmypatient’scircumstances. AmomentthatsticksouttomeinvolvesanelderlyRussianwomanvisitingherdaughter (whoservedasherinterpreter) andwhowasalsoconsideringmovingtoGainesville. ShelivedinasmalltownfourhourswestofMoscow, inafirstfloorapartment, surroundedbyfriendsandlong-timeneighborswhogroceryshoppedforherandassistedwithtransportation. Shestruggledwiththedilemmaoftransitioningfromtheknowntotheunknownwithalanguagebarrier, andshehaddisablingosteoarthritisofherkneewithoutthefinancialresourcesforaneededkneereplacement. Hadhermedicalvisitbeenlimitedtoherarthritis, theimageofthiswomanregardingherclinicalcarewouldhavebeenwoefullyincomplete.

Momentssuchastheseshowshowbeingcompletelyinvestedinyourpatientscanreallymakeadifference. Inessence, thebeautyofACORNreliesonthefactthatwetrytobeaspersonablewithourpatientsaspossible. IcanrecallmeetinganelderlyAfricanAmericanwomanwithrecentonsetofshoulderpain, whichhadlimitedherdailyactivitiesandhersleep. Mytreatmentandasimplephonecalltohertwoweekslaterfoundherhighlyappreciativeofthecallandanearresolutionofherpain. Thisshowedmethatbysimplyfollowingupwithyourpatientstoseehowtheyaredoingcanreallymakeanimpactintheirlivesbecauseitletsthemknowyoutrulycareevenbeyondtreatingtheirillnesses. Ihavefoundthatthereisnobetterfeelingthanputtingasmileonpatient’sfacebyanunassuminggestureofkindnessandregardforthemasafellowhumanbeingfirstandpatientasecond.

Forthesereasons, IbelieveACORNClinicisasafehaven, wherepeopleinneedcancomefordesperatelyneededhealthcare, withsome, butnotallthesolutionstotheirhealthchallenges. IcontinuetosupportACORNClinicanditsmissionthroughthegiftofmytimeandexpertise. IchallengethecommunitytosupportACORNthroughdonationstoitsCapitalCampaigntorepairandupdateitsbuildingsandequipmenttherebyallowingtheClinictoexpandthenumberofpatientsitserves. VisitACORNClinic’sWebsitetolearnmoreabouthowyoucanhelp:acornclinic.com/contribute

ACORNClinicisa 501 (c)(3) non-profitserving20 NorthCentralFloridacountieswithfull-servicemedicalanddentalclinics.ACORNClinicprovideshighquality, affordablemedicalcare, dentalcare, andsocialservicesbystaffandvolunteers. Inpartnershipwitheducationalinstitutions, ACORNClinicalsofunctionsasanexemplaryservicelearningsiteforhealthprofessionals.