Edwin Ortiz first turned to an emergency room after he lost his job, his health insurance and feeling in his feet.
The diabetic had stopped taking insulin because he couldn't afford it on his unemployment checks, and his disease started damaging his nerves. He left the E.R. with a $600 bill and $200 worth of prescriptions he couldn't afford to fill.
Then the 44-year-old heard from a friend about the Rose Park Clinic, 1105 W. 1000 North, which provides primary care practically for free.
"The next day I had a bottle of insulin and syringes to start taking care of myself," he said.
The clinic, along with others that provide free or low-cost care, have become magnets during the recession — and the need isn't expected to slow. The number of patients seen at the four clinics run by Intermountain Healthcare, including Rose Park, have jumped 26.5 percent this year. Nearly all of the patients are uninsured, up from three-fourths.
While jobs might be returning, employers aren't offering insurance or premiums are too expensive, according to clinic administrators and patients.
"We're seeing people who've lost jobs and they replace it but it's with significantly lower pay and/or loss of benefits," said Terry Foust, director of Intermountain Healthcare's community and school clinics, including the one at Rose Park Elementary.
For the uninsured, the Intermountain clinics charge a sliding fee based on the patient's income, or provide free care. And they arrange reduced-cost specialty care through Intermountain hospitals.
Ortiz pays $20 a checkup to ensure his diabetes is under control. The staff also helped him apply for free medicine, enrolled him in nutrition and exercise classes and gave him a voucher to see a cardiologist to diagnose an unrelated problem in his legs. He then got a break — he'll pay $5,000 instead of $30,000 — on the two surgeries needed to place stents in his arteries.
He says he has been looking for work for the past six months with no luck.
"Sometimes I say to myself, 'You've got to be rich to be sick,'" he said. Without the clinic's help, "I wouldn't be able to get my diabetes under control."
Across town in South Salt Lake, a separately run clinic is also overflowing. The Maliheh Free Clinic — which only serves the uninsured — is projecting a 40 percent increase in patients this year, to 16,500.
It is so popular that new patients have to wait until October to see a doctor. The clinic, at 415 E. 3900 South, is expected to open five days a week in July, instead of four, to accommodate some of the demand. And it may open on evenings and weekends.
Filling the gaps in health care, the clinic treats those who don't qualify for Medicaid because they either make too much, don't have children or are in the country illegally. They must meet certain income guidelines, making no more than $33,075 for a family of four.
The clinic provides typical primary care, and holds specialty clinics including pediatrics, orthopedics, dermatology, urology and dental. The care is free, with about six doctors and eight nurses volunteering every day. One doctor and one nurse per day are paid, to ensure continuity.
Most lab tests are also free to patients. The pharmacy is stocked with samples donated by physician offices. An employee applies for free medications for patients through pharmaceutical companies' assistance programs. If drugs aren't covered, an anonymous donor pays for them through Rite Aid. Intermountain Health Care donates lab and physician services and University of Utah medical students donate their time.
"We're preventing the disaster that sends them to the E.R., that costs us all a whole lot of money," said former emergency-room physician Peggy Mair, who now works at the clinic.
The number of patients seeking care at Maliheh has grown as the economy shrank and the 5-year-old clinic gained recognition in the community. It was created by Khosrow Semnani, founder of the radioactive-waste disposal company Envirocare of Utah, now EnergySolutions, and emergency-room physician Mansoor Emam.
It took Carol Simpson two months to get her first appointment at the clinic to get a tooth pulled. She and her husband are self-employed handymen, and don't have insurance. "Last year was so rough, we couldn't find work," she said.
This year has been a "little bit better," but she hasn't had the cash to go to a dentist. The Maliheh clinic only provides extractions, and Simpson laments she is left without teeth and no way to get implants. "I've been in pain four months, probably six months."
Mirna, who didn't want to give her last name so she wouldn't embarrass her children, said she lost her individual insurance policy in September after she was late on a payment because she and her husband's remodeling company found few clients.
She goes to the clinic to keep healthy, she said, because she doesn't want to end up in the E.R. and leave the bill to someone else to pay.
"It's great to have this when you're struggling," she said.
Angel Guzman said he can't afford his employer's insurance plan, so he brings his 18-year-old daughter to the clinic for her checkups. When his finances improve, he hopes to find another doctor.
"Maybe we can leave this place to somebody else."
No doubt, there will be plenty of people waiting to take their spots.
hmay@sltrib.com —
South Salt Lake clinic expanding to Midvale
Even before it opens its doors, the Hope Clinic in Midvale has patients lined up for free care.
Emergency-room physician and clinic creator Mansoor Emam estimates 50 patients are waiting to be seen at the clinic, at 65 E. 6850 South, which will be staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses.
He expects the new clinic to serve up to 12,000 patients a year. Like Emam's first clinic, The Maliheh Free Clinic in South Salt Lake, Hope will be free to uninsured Utahns.
It will initially be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays and it could add a third day to treat children. It will also help clients with financial and immigration issues.
An opening date has not been set.
"We can actually have 10 of these 24-7 and it wouldn't meet the current needs in the Salt Lake Valley," Emam said.
Heather May
