As the holiday season is upon us, there’s a heightened awareness of helping those in need. Communities and churches provide meals for the hungry, and homeless shelters reach capacity as the chill of winter fills the air. Although some only take notice of this during the holidays, charities struggle to fulfill the needs of their clients all year.
I recently had a patient under my care who presented with shortness of breath from poorly controlled hypertension. As the patient responded to the therapy, his downcast eyes filled with tears as he shamefully admitted that he had been non-compliant with his medications because he could no longer afford to purchase them.
All of us within the emergency care system have seen this scenario, but this patient interaction demonstrated a new trend that I’ve seen as a result of the economic downturn. My patient wasn’t on a fixed income or receiving welfare benefits. He wasn’t homeless, and he wasn’t uneducated or unskilled. My patient was a college-educated 58-year-old father of four who worked in the office of a manufacturing company for more than 30 years. His company closed due to bankruptcy and left more than 150 people without an income or their hard-earned pensions. In an unsuccessful attempt to avoid foreclosure on his home, my patient elected to try to keep a roof over his family s head and food on the table rather than pay for his medications and health insurance.
Gasoline is another factor that impacts our patients. When prices were nearing $5 per gallon, I was dreading the impact on the heating bills of the elderly. I, along with many of my colleagues, feared we would see an increase in hypothermic patients, especially infants and the elderly. Luckily, the prices are dropping back down.
Patients with inadequate resources are a frequent sight in our emergency departments (EDs). However, the decline of Wall Street has suddenly thrown a new group of people into this sad situation. The unique factor about these individuals is that they’ve never been nor expected to be in dire straits. Despite responsible financial planning and fiscal management, many have been thrown into this situation by factors out of their control. Most of them have no knowledge of the available resources for assistance, and many are too ashamed to reveal their needs. Emotionally, they’re unprepared for a life of relative poverty, and this is exhibited by their higher incidence of stress-related illnesses, depression and increased suicide risk.
EMS has always been the eyes and ears for the ED and that role has expanded over the decades. In addition to the provision of patient care, EMS professionals are often the only conduit of information about the home life of the patients. They may be the first to identify a home in squalor, child or elder abuse, unmet needs, such as lack of proper nutrition or heat, or the silence of hopeless depression.
Now, more than ever, it’s imperative for EMS to become more astute in this role as the demographics of those in desperation have changed. Children trudging in the frigid snow in wet tennis shoes are a sign their parents can’t afford boots. A new address on your “frequent flier” list indicates a less-than-positive change within that household. Don’t let the upscale neighborhood or the luxury car in the driveway fool you.
We all have something to give. A person’s wants may be many, but one’s true needs are few. Whether you can donate a lot or a little, just donate something, because we should never forget those in need.
As you peruse your list of planned purchases for the year, think about local EMS agencies in your area that may be struggling to maintain a basic level of operation. If you have extra backboards or other equipment you’re not using, consider donating them to a volunteer EMS agency, because most of them have a budget that is shrinking faster than the stock market. After all, we’re in this together.
And as the New Year approaches, continue to offer benevolent helping hands and caring hearts to those who cross your path in life.
Here are some resources that might help during these hard times …
- AARP
- Coats for Kids
- Children’s Hunger Alliance
- Meals on Wheels
- Medicare
- Salvation Army
- Toys for Tots
- Women, Infants and Children Program
- Children’s Defense Fund
- Local senior citizen centers
- Local free medical and dental clinics
- Local food banks
- Financial advisors
