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Joint reconstruction surgeons pay it forward in their hometown
Operation Joint Implant was started to provide joint replacements to the uninsured of central Ohio.
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Images: Joint Implant Surgeons Inc., New Albany Ohio |
Adolph V. Lombardi Jr, MD, felt a tap on his shoulder while out shopping in his community of New Albany, Ohio. He turned to see the smiling face of a recent arthroplasty patient.
“Hey doc, how are you doing?” the patient said. “You’ve really helped me get my life back.”
Such encounters are becoming more common since Lombardi and fellow orthopedic surgeon Keith R. Berend, MD, started Operation Joint Implant in late 2010. The organization provides free total knee or hip arthroplasties to local residents with limited incomes.
“When you come back from an operation and you see those smiling faces the next day when you do rounds and you see families that want to hug you, there’s nothing better in the world,” Lombardi told Orthopedics Today.
Lombardi and Berend conceived the idea from their volunteer work with Operation Walk, an organization that arranges knee and hip replacement in other countries, such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Guatemala.
Eligibility for care
The orthopedists looked to apply a similar program in their New Albany community for those who could not afford insurance or were ineligible for federal or state assistance.
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They took the idea to their administrators at Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital and said, “Our practice has an open door policy. If you have Medicaid, you can come in and get your surgery,” Lombardi explained. “But what do we do with a patient who does not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, is working at 100% to 200% of the poverty level and cannot afford this operation? How do we take care of those patients?”
The hospital helped Lombardi and Berend design the charity for the working uninsured.
To qualify for the program, patients must be legal residents of the Mount Carmel Service Area, be at 100% to 200% of the federal poverty level, be ineligible for Medicare or Medicaid and unable to purchase their own insurance. If patients do not meet these requirements, a financial counselor explains other forms of assistance they may be eligible to receive, including Medicare, Medicaid or state assistance. Then, using these avenues, Lombardi or Berend will operate on the patient.
Donations
Lombardi, Berend and the Mount Carmel facility have inspired many individuals, companies and organizations to donate services and time to Operation Joint Implant.
“This is all considered charity care, and our surgeons were originally involved with working with vendors,” Senior Vice President of Clinical Services at Mount Carmel New Albany, Diane Doucette, said. “They helped negotiate with all of the vendors, which is the highest cost [item], as well as consulting physicians, internists, anesthesiologists, etc., to donate time and supplies to provide joint replacement therapy to patients.”
Twenty-two departments at Mount Carmel New Albany donate their services and time, device companies such as Angiotech and Biomet supply implants and sutures, a local grocery store, Kroger, dispenses postoperative prescriptions, and a local rehabilitation center, The Laurels, provides extended care to patients, if required. Mount Carmel also provides transportation based on need.
From referral to surgery
Patients are referred to the program or learn about it at an educational fair or from other patients. Patients get X-rays the same day they are cleared for the program by a financial advisor, according to Brian Pierson, the director of community outreach at Mount Carmel. The patient is then referred to a general medical consultant who may order preoperative cardiac or dental care, which is also free to the patient.
Patients spend 24 hours to 36 hours at Mount Carmel for aftercare and are discharged to home or a rehabilitation center depending on their circumstances. All services are free to the patient.
Community impact
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“We’re serving the most vulnerable population,” Pierson said. “We’re reaching out to people who feel they’re not able to contribute. They are not able to hold a job. They haven’t been able to do a lot of the things they love doing the most because they’ve been in extreme pain and they’ve had absolutely no way to receive care until now. We’re essentially working to give people their lives back and help them be productive.”
Pierson remembers one patient with a cynical attitude toward charity. The patient’s outlook changed when he realized that he could undergo surgery through the organization.
“His daughter said his whole demeanor and philosophy on charity care changed,” Pierson said. “By the time it got to the day of surgery, all he could say was I cannot wait to have my surgery, get beyond it, and the moment I am feeling better, I am going to go out and find a way to give back.”
Rebecca Dunaway, a practice administrator at Lombardi and Berend’s own practice, Joint Implant Surgeons, explained the gratitude of patients Lombardi and Berend have helped.
“Drs. Lombardi and Berend are world-class physicians,” Dunaway said. “The patients who have received the surgical care have said they have heard of them by reputation, and for them to take time away from their practice to give back to their community has been meaningful to patients because they know the type of surgeon they are getting for this, and it is significant.”
Many rewards
Lombardi and Berend feel privileged to use their skills to give back to their community.
“As physicians, and as being very blessed with our careers, our families and our lifestyles, we can give to our community and various charitable organizations,” Berend said. “But to be able to give back by the performance of surgery, what we’re trained to do and what we love to do, to me is the most rewarding way to give back to our community and country, using our talents and skills as opposed to just giving.”
“I think it makes you a complete person,” Lombardi added. “We are very fortunate to be qualified to do a great operation to help people in our community.”
The greatest reward for Lombardi and Berend happened when they saw all their hard-won efforts come to fruition and saw their first Operation Joint Implant patient walk.
“When the first patient was done, and up and walking with therapy, it really was a sense of accomplishment that we were able to achieve our goal,” Berend told Orthopedics Today.
Inspiring others
Lombardi and Berend hope to continue performing arthroplasties for at least six patients from their community quarterly.
“If there was more money donated, we could do more,” Berend noted.
Lombardi and Berend continue to rally others to organize similar programs through Operation Walk USA, a drive to inspire at least two centers in all 50 states to participate in a similar program. In 2010, 15 other centers across the United States participated. This year, they hope 100 centers will participate during a weekend-long effort taking place December 2-3.
For orthopedists aspiring to start their own Operation Joint Implant organization, Lombardi noted, “What we need at every one of these sites across the country is a physician champion who can make this their goal and help us get this program done. I suspect we are going to hit our target.” – by Renee Blisard
- Adolph V. Lombardi Jr, MD, Keith R. Berend, MD, and Rebecca Dunaway can be reached at Joint Implant Surgeons, 7277 Smith’s Mill Rd., Ste. 200, New Albany, OH 43054; 614-221-6331; email: lombardiav@joint-surgeons.com; email: berendkr@joint-surgeons.com.
- Brian Pierson and Diane Doucette can be reached at Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital, 7333 Smith’s Mill Rd., New Albany, OH 43054; 614-234-6000; email: bpierson@mchs.com; email: ddoucette@mchs.com.
- Disclosures: Lombardi and Berend earn royalties from, are consultants for and are on the speaker’s bureau for Biomet.