"For the Person"

Doctors from suburbs give free treatment to South Bronx poor

By Brian Caufield
Photos by Chris Sheridan
Catholic New York, February 17, 2000
www.cny.org

When it comes to medical care, people of the South Bronx know where to go for a careful diagnosis, expert treatment, referrals, vaccinations and lots of personal attention. All for free.

St. Anthony's Free Medical Clinic, sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, operates in a converted classroom in a former school building on East 155th Street. Doctors with prosperous suburban practices offer their services there to needy individuals and families who have no health insurance, among them undocumented immigrants afraid that a visit to a local doctor or emergency room will result in deportation.

"Morally and socially, it's what you should do," said Dr. Thomas Camisa, an internist/cardiologist in Bronxville, explaining his work at the clinic. "This is the kind of medicine most doctors want to do when they get into the field. I think a lot of them would get involved in giving free care if they knew of these opportunities."

Dr. Robert Quintano, a plastic surgeon in Bronxville, said the doctors are repaid by their patients' thanks and the satisfaction of improving people's lives.

"We take away far more than we give," said Dr. Quintano, who practices general medicine at the clinic. "We go away with an invigorated feeling, doing medicine for the sake of medicine, for the sake of the person who can't repay you monetarily."

Working full time at the clinic are a husband and wife team, Drs. Daniel and Lisa Benz, who met years ago while volunteering at a South Bronx soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity. They were married in 1994, moved to a suburb of Buffalo and last year returned to the Bronx with their three children to volunteer at the clinic. They live on the top floor of a weathered three-family house down the block.

They are living off savings and providing health care at the clinic four days during the week.

Most of the doctors come on Saturday mornings, when the largest number of patients are treated.

The neighborhood, long a symbol of urban blight, with burned-out buildings, drug dealing and poor-performing public schools, has in recent years seen an upswing. New houses dot the streets, some middle-class people have moved in, new immigrants have brought their dreams and ambitions.

The Franciscans have renovated six buildings on 155th and 156th streets. They have 26 friars living in two houses and run a homeless shelter, a residence and community and youth services.

Dr. Quintano was the moving force behind the founding of the clinic. After offering his services to the friars in the South Bronx two years ago, he was put in touch with Father Robert Lombardo, C.F.R., who runs St. Anthony Residence, a single-room occupancy facility for 65 men. He showed Dr. Quintano a dilapidated room on the third floor of the former St. Adalbert's School building, where the friars were constructing a family and community center. Dr. Quintano enlisted helpers to renovate the space, make two examining rooms and a supply room, and he sent out invitations to Westchester doctors to join the volunteer team.

Dr. Camisa was the first to respond.

"This is just what I was looking for," he said.

Both doctors are parishioners, with their families, of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale.

About 1,000 patients have been seen in the 19 months the facility has been open. A gynecologist, a urologist, a pediatrician and a registered nurse have joined the staff. Spanish translation and various support work is provided by two Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception from Mexico.

Shelley Quintano, the doctor's wife who is a nurse, handles most of the scheduling and deliveries for the clinic.

The medical desks, examining tables and instruments are donated, as are medicines and many tests done by a pathology lab. Equipment for a dental office, including two chairs, have been received and set up in a room adjoining the clinic. All that is needed to add free dental care to the list of services is a volunteer dentist.

"It's amazing how people have pulled together around the clinic," said Dr. Quintano. "We get donations of money, which we need, of course. Other doctors who know of our work drop off materials for the clinic in my garage without me even knowing."

Father Lombardo said the clinic's mission is to fulfill the Gospel command to care for the needy and neglected.

"We are inspired by Cardinal O'Connor's lead. He has called for good, quality, Catholic health care accessible to all people," he said.

The range of ailments treated is wide, from AIDS to the common cold. An operation was arranged at almost no cost for a 3-year-old boy with chronic ear infections. A young mother who met a group of Franciscan friars praying outside an abortion clinic was given free prenatal care, and her baby was delivered in a hospital at cost. The mother asked Dr. Quintano and his wife to be the newborn's godparents.

"The care provided goes far beyond the medical treatment. We are serving the whole person," Mrs. Quintano said.

The doctors treat diabetes, hypertension, alcoholism, drug abuse, chronic diseases and write sick notes for school children.

The Benzes feel privileged to live with the people they serve. As they walk through the neighborhood, or attend the local church, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on East 151st Street, people stop to thank them or ask medical advice for a friend or a child.

"The medical needs are great in an area like this, and the people are so good," said Dr. Daniel Benz.

During the week, he takes morning appointments and drop-ins. He returns home for lunch, and cares for their children while his wife, a pediatrician, staffs the clinic for the afternoon.

"The satisfaction is that you are helping people who may not otherwise go for medical care because of the expense or other reasons," she said. "There is a process of building a trust so that they know they can rely on you."

Dr. Camisa said, "A lot of our patients have a sense of having been pushed aside most of their lives. There's something special to listening to people who are not listened to too often. They respect that. They feel they are being treated like a human being, that they're not being thrown away. They are just as important as any patient in Bronxville or Scarsdale. They can't pay you, but they'll come back with some cookies they baked or a special dish they made."

Recalling recent cases, he added, "We've seen ex-alcoholics or drug addicts. Now they're working, getting their lives together. How could you ever be paid for that?"