Gary’s story
Gary Mitchell is a musician — a gifted choral director and tenor. He’s the music director at my church, which is a part-time job and doesn’t carry insurance.
Gary’s spouse is a minister and has insurance, but the policy doesn’t cover domestic partners, and in North Carolina, Gary can’t marry his domestic partner, the Rev. David Eck, so he lives in fear of getting sick.
Gary and David have raised two adopted children. They’re both good, kind people. They have a modest home here in Asheville, which they likely would lose if Gary got sick.
Because he has had medical issues in the past, private insurance would cost him $1,300 a month. He bought a policy that will cover up to $50,000 in a catastrophic event. In other words, one major surgery. Chemo costs more than that.
Gary worked for the school system as a high school teacher and choral director for many years, so once he turns 62 — well over a decade from now — he can get coverage again under the state plan.
“My health plan right now is to pray I stay healthy,” he says.
Have a beer in May
Stop into Altamont Brewing, 1042 Haywood Road, West Asheville, any time in May and ask for their "charity" beer of the day. Buy one and Life o' Mike gets $1. In fact, we get a buck for each one sold. So go in every day and have one to support Life o' Mike.
Thanks, Altamont!
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.
I\’m an RN at a local hospital here in NC. It seems that every time I go into work, I hear stories from my patients about how their health insurance is lacking. I\’ve taken care of a grandmother after a hip replacement whose insurance wouldn\’t pay for her to go to rehab — she was the sole caregiver for her 3 school-aged grandchildren and had to go home, on her own, to recover. I cared for a gentleman who, after several extensive surgeries, was left with large, gaping wounds and several skin grafts on his abdomen. He told me that his insurance would not pay for the dressing supplies he needed for his wounds, unless he had a home health nurse, which he didn\’t need. There was also a woman whose insurance would not pay for the medication she needed to battle a severe infection of a foot wound after she had recovered from a blood clot in her leg. It was $1600 for a one-month supply — the insurance company said it was unnecessary.
As a healthcare worker, I strive to provide the best care I can for my patients every day. Unfortunately, our healthcare system in America can\’t say the same.