The Volunteer Voice

Volunteering comes in many different forms. People get involved for many different reasons. Some reasons might be personal and others reasons might be because they have a special skill to offer others. It is amazing to see the kindness of volunteers towards strangers. Many patients at VIM not only have medical issues, but also mental health issues. All the volunteers ensure that the patient feels comfortable and welcomed while providing quality compassionate care.

VIM Wilkes-Barre opened 13 years ago and many volunteers have been providing their time and expertise on a weekly basis from the first day the doors opened. Below are some of our Healthcare Heroes that were at the clinic last week during National Volunteer Week. They are our Super Heroes and critical to the delivery of services provided to our neighbors needing a hand up!

VIM is not federally funded and does not charge for services. The Clinic is truly a nonprofit 501 c 3 organization offering free healthcare services to families that work with a low household income and can't afford insurance. VIM is for the community, by the community. Your continued generosity will provide critical services that would otherwise be unattainable to our hard working low income neighbors in need of hope, health and healing.

Welcome to our New Volunteer Physical Therapist

Joseph Rotondo is from Staten Island, NY and a 5th year PA student from Kings College. He wants to practice family medicine or orthopedics. He has been gaining primary care experience at VIM.

Jaycee Blair, Felicia Ozielak and Cassandra Coombe are second and third year pharmacy students at Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy. They are conducting a survey to patients at VIM about COVID to collect data for a research project. They enjoy learning about the services to the underserved populations. (Jaycee and Felicia are pictured below)

Caitlin Eigenbrod is from Hanover Township. She is a nursing student at Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Institute and graduating this year. Caitlin enjoys providing her nursing skills to the patients of VIM.

Roshinben Nishil Patel lives in Scranton and was a dentist in India. She plans to return to dental school to get her United States license and hopes to practice in Pennsylvania. Rosh wants to serve her community and enjoys volunteering at VIM.

A 64 year old Caucasian male who has been a patient at VIM since 2013 developed hypertension.  He originally tried exercise but finally agreed to medications and his blood pressure has been controlled for several years. Routine lab work was provided free to the patient every 3 months as part of our comprehensive care program. His liver enzymes began to increase and our volunteer healthcare provider discussed alcoholic intake with the patient who admitted that he had been going through some stressful life events and was over indulging.     Due to the development of stomach distress, an ultrasound was provided which detected a large lesion on his liver. Follow up included a cat scan and then a biopsy was recommended. The patient originally declined getting a biopsy due to lack of health insurance and ignoring his diagnosis.  He was a small business owner that did not have the $150 a month for the supplemental Medicare costs. VIM's Social Care Coordinator worked tirelessly to convince and assist him with obtaining Medicare. It was originally denied but finally approved and an appointment with a gastroenterologist was immediately scheduled. Surgical intervention was performed in March, 2021 and the cancerous mass was removed with clear margins.  Patient is awaiting further follow-up with his new primary care provider and an oncologist to discuss further treatment. He is no longer a patient at VIM due to having Medicare but the staff keeps in touch with him on a weekly basis. Last week, he stopped in to say that he was doing okay. This is an example of how most services, even if emergent, are unattainable to the uninsured without VIM and it's community partners.

A 31 year old male, employed as a part-time truck driver, has been a patient at VIM for five years. He is a diabetic, obese and a smoker. He is currently enrolled in the smoking cessation program with VIM's Clinical Pharmacist and showing improvement with trying to stop smoking. VIM provides free diabetic medications to the patient so his hemoglobin A 1 C is controlled. He has also had appointments with the volunteer registered dietitian to discuss eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis.

He has been seen numerous times in the VIM Dental Clinic. The Clinic staff works diligently at providing education to him on good oral hygiene. The below photos show before and after his last cleaning with the hygienist. Two visits were required to remove all the plaque and tarter.