It is alarming that, compared to last year, twice as many BMH diabetes patients could not afford nutritious food this year. Many of these same patients are uninsured and unable to afford the medical care they need to maintain stable blood sugars. Without proper medical care and healthy life styles, patients are at risk for serious diabetic complications and prolonged medical issues.
In 2010 Brattleboro Memorial Hospital provided approximately $4.5 million in uncompensated medical care for our friends and neighbors. Your gift for uncompensated medical care helps people to live balanced lives, to get the care (and the food) they need to be healthy.
This is the spirit behind the uncompensated care fund. If a person has medical need and a financial inability to pay for treatment, BMH will help them, whether it is because they have no or inadequate insurance. People should not have to choose between medical care and paying their rent…or for food, yet this happens.
I felt great on a Sunday morning in early April, snowboarding with my friends at a local ski area. So what happened next came on so fast and unexpectedly I didn’t think about how to react. I flipped my board and hyper-extended my knee. Not realizing that this was a serious injury, I got myself down the mountain and the ski area medical techs looked me over and offered to bring me to a hospital. I was worried about the money and thought I would be able to manage ok on my own. I decided to wait for my friends. I felt bad that we had all paid so much for the lift tickets and it was only 9:30AM, so I just waited.When I got home and was weighing my options, I thought if I could by-pass the Emergency Room that would save me some money. The problem was, though I recently graduated from college, my student loans were coming due and I had only just started a new job….and now this. I needed to get medical help for my rapidly swelling and painful leg but insurance benefits at work wouldn’t be available until July.
After all, I ended up in the Emergency Department at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. X-rays and a CAT scan showed extensive damage that required surgery, one plate and six screws to fix my fractured tibia. And $17,000.00 to cover the costs. Could I defer my student loans to pay my medical bills? I knew I would be out of work for several months. I didn’t know what to do. Someone at the hospital gave me a form for getting financial help from the hospital and, really, I didn’t think it would help pay for very much. But I sent it in anyway and started looking into other options.
After a few days, the BMH Patient Care Services representative called me and told me everything would be paid for by the BMH Charity Free Care Program. I almost didn’t believe her. In tough times, it’s difficult to get a break (unless its breaking your leg snowboarding). This was great news for me. That BMH would cover the cost of my entire medical bill changed my life! I tell everyone about the wonderful medical care and the amazing gift I got at a financially hard time in my life.