Joshua’s story
Joshua C. spent almost all of his adulthood with a hernia. For twelve years since the age of 19 he’d go to emergency rooms or free clinics asking for help, only to realize that as a barista with no health insurance he’d be unable to afford the surgery bill. “Free clinics are great but they’re capable of only so many things,” Joshua said. “No specialist would accept me as a charity case.”
When the condition started getting much worse, in winter 2008, he went to the North By Northeast Community Health Center, where Virginia Weeks referred him to Project Access. After he filled out the required paperwork, Project Access got Joshua an appointment with a specialist at OHSU. The surgery took place a month later, in January 2009.
“I got great care at OHSU,” Joshua said. “The doctor never mentioned Project Access. I was treated like any other patient. Everyone was really friendly. I got to see how things work in healthcare, the first time since I was a kid.”
The whole process took two months. Joshua felt “ecstatic about the whole process. It was great to have something so serious taken care of so quickly. I really didn’t have to do anything other than go to my appointments. I got billed by mistake and saw how much everything cost. I’d never be able to afford it. What a great system.”
Commenting on his life after the surgery, Joshua said, “Here I am, a changed man. I’m so very thankful. I can do pretty much everything I want except for heavy lifting. It’s a great way to start my thirties.”
(June 2009)
