At Culmore Clinic Patients Are Seen & Heard
In 2016, “Maria,” 68, was admitted to the Emergency Room for a broken wrist. She had limited financial resources and no health insurance. At the hospital she learned that the break was caused by undiagnosed osteoporosis. She was also told she had diabetes and was in congestive heart failure because of an enlarged heart. She was not certain of instructions or referrals to specialists.
Following this incident, Maria visited her primary care doctor, but was unable to afford ongoing visits and the prescriptions she needed to treat her illnesses adequately. She was not offered a DEXA (bone scan) to further evaluate her osteoporosis. And, the medication she could afford for her diabetes and heart failure came without explanation or follow up to ensure it was the best regimen for her specific situation.
Enter Culmore Clinic. At our first appointment with Maria, her A1C reading was 10.7 - almost twice the normal range. A finger stick revealed her blood sugar in a dangerous level at 350. She relayed to us that she had not learned how to check her blood sugar, nor did she receive teaching about a diabetic diet. She did not know about carbohydrates and sugar, and had never used a glucometer.
Since under Culmore Clinic’s care, Maria has received the following, all in her native language…
One-on-one coaching from our nursing team on how to use a glucometer, which she was given to take home along with test strips, lancets, and a glucose log that she will bring to future appointments for review.
A referral to our free diabetes management pilot program, Turning the Curve, funded by Islamic Relief USA, where she will receive comprehensive diabetes education and counseling from our Nutritionist, all free of charge.
Enrollment with our partners at NovaScripts Central to receive her needed medications at an affordable cost of $5 for a 3-month supply.
A referral for a free DEXA scan to assess her osteoporosis and a prescription for calcium and vitamin D supplements.
A referral to an ophthalmologist for a free eye exam as uncontrolled diabetes can result in blindness.
Information on how to check her feet as uncontrolled diabetes can lead to foot ulcers, wounds, and eventually limb amputation.
A referral to our partners at Fairfax Radiology for a free mammogram.
A dental appointment for her very poor oral health thanks to our partnership with Fenwick Foundation.
An appointment to receive an EKG and be assessed by our new volunteer cardiologist Dean Pollock, MD, FAAC, who sees patients once per month onsite at The Clinic.
We wish Maria’s story was an outlier - a rarity in our community. However, that is far from the truth. Our patients bring us stories like this weekly. The most basic health interventions have escaped them, leading to serious medical conditions. Culmore Clinic is called to respond to the most vulnerable among us with cura personalis or “care of the whole person.”
If we don’t, who will?
The name of the patient has been changed to protect privacy and the images are not of the patient.
Support Culmore Clinic’s Lifesaving Work
On behalf of our patients like Maria, our staff, volunteers and partners, thank you for stepping up to support this lifesaving work.