National Nurses United

18 M A R C H 2 0 0 6 W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E their co-payment. "The days of employer-paid health coverage are disappearing, and in the clinic we see the results." And, says Hewitt, in rural areas the pool of insured people is often not large enough for insurance companies to remain in the area. "There is one health insurance company up here – Blue Cross. The others left because in order for them to make money, there has to be a large pool of healthy people whose payments fund the unhealthy people." This system error is one reason the local hospital, St Joseph's, is such an integral part of the rural health care safety net. "Peo- ple who don't have enough money often use the emergency room for primary care. You see people going to the ER for an earache or a sore throat." Although St. Joseph's has an urgent care cen- ter nearby, Hewitt says, "I don't think they take Medi-Cal, and if you're undocumented, you can't get Medi-Cal anyway. At the hospital (emergency room), they can't turn you away." Rhude feels strongly that access to medical care would be vastly improved with a universal health care system. "If there's one thing that I could emphasize, it would be sin- gle-payer," says Rhude. "It's ridiculous that all of these agencies and organizations are vying for funding. It is such a huge waste of energy and resources. A single-payer system would help solve that." Hewitt concurs. "Our clinic is very much in favor of a single- payer health care system. Even when there are increases in fund- ing to rural clinics, it still doesn't meet the need." The refrain is not uncommon among rural health clinic staff members, who would welcome a unified federal health care plan to cover all Americans. As proof of the need for universal coverage, Hewitt offers, "There is no dentist in Humboldt County who is currently will- ing to take on new Medi-Cal patients." To answer this need, Mobile Medical Office has trained their staff in basic preventative dental care, evidence of Hewitt's con- tention that the rural health care provider's skills must be di- verse enough to answer the needs of the community. Part of a Community The following Tuesday, against a mural of sunflowers and farm- ers adorning the wall of the Saint Vincent de Paul dining room, the Mobile Medical staff signs in patients on their stop in old town Eureka. Across the dining room, a line of people waits for the door to open to the noonday meal. Inside, volunteers ladle food

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