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Volpact helps doctors care for working poor By SUSAN JAY Local physicians and hospitals have contributed more than $1 million in free medical services to the Rogue Valley's working poor over the past three years. That's because of a unique local program called Volunteers for Patient Access to Consultation and Treatment, or VolPact. The program connects physicians and hospitals with the uninsured working poor who need to be seen and treated for a variety of urgent illnesses, including heart problems and injuries. Through VolPact, physicians and hospitals have provided free medical care, including doctor's visits and surgeries, to 1,533 residents, worth a total of $892,712, according to a recent report covering the period ending in May 1998. Since May 1998, that dollar amount has exceeded $1 million in free medical services. From June 1997 to May 1998, the program helped 764 patients, almost double the 409 people served in the 1996-1997 period. Physicians donated $189,279 in free care, and hospitals an additional $177,148 for a total of $366,427 from 1997 to 1998. Some doctors conduct speciality clinics at the Community Health Center and La Clinica del Valle, others see patients in their offices. All three hospitals -- Rogue Valley Medical Center, Providence Medford Medical Center and Ashland Community Hospital -- provide surgeries free of charge, and each hospital contributes one quarter of the cost of the VolPact coordinator, who works at the Jackson County Medical Society. VolPact is the vision of John Forsyth, an internist and cardiologist at the Medford Clinic. After President Clinton's health-care reform efforts failed, Forsyth saw a need for a system to allow physicians to volunteer, share the care and catch those working poor falling through the cracks. Forsyth himself volunteers weekly at the Community Health Center to see patients with heart problems. "I think that we never envisioned it as being an answer to the large gap between people covered by insurance and those who aren't," Forsyth said. "But I think it has provided a service for folks who need consultations, especially, and who are not in a situation to be able to either access or afford that." The Rogue Valley is a healthier community because of VolPact, said Peg Crowley, executive director of the Community Health Center. The center referred 114 patients to the program from June 1997 to May 1998. La Clinica del Valle, a federally funded community clinic which serves the working poor and migrant workers, referred 76 patients, and physician's offices referred an additional 39. "I'm so bullish for this program," Crowley said. "I would shout it from the highest mountain. It means that we really can get care for people." She said the program provides the two most important factors for a healthy outcome: proper diagnosis and treatment. Debra McFadden, director of the Jackson County Medical Society, said the program is unique and that the society has received calls from other groups, including the American Medical Association, interested in the community model. She said approximately 285 of the valley's 350 doctors participate. They like it because VolPact allows them to easily care for patients who don't have resources. "It's a nice way to share responsibility for the community's patients in need," she said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA