Chester County Medicine Fall 2019 - 21

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ounded in 1998 as a free clinic primarily staffed by
volunteers, Community Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM)
continues to be committed to its original objective -
increasing access to high quality primary medical services, dental
care, and prescription medications for uninsured, vulnerable
individuals and families living in poverty - the working poor
who have no place to turn for care. To address the need for a
new solution to the issue, the Paoli Hospital Foundation and
its Auxiliary set aside funds in 1996 to develop CVIM. Today,
our clinic serves as a premier healthcare home for thousands of
uninsured adults and children living in or near poverty.
Patients come to CVIM and find an all-encompassing
healthcare home. Here they will see a primary care physician,
over 30 available specialists, a full dental suite with seven available
operatories, a well-stocked dispensary, behavioral health options,
and additional healthy living programs. Our patients maintain a
gross income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level and are
not eligible for government assistance programs such as Medicare,
Medicaid, or Veterans Assistance, and cannot afford the Affordable
Healthcare Act. CVIM serves residents and workers of the Chester
County region, and in recent years has expanded its care in
include dental services in areas of Delaware County. In particular,
a need for dental services amongst senior citizen populations was
expanded through a partnership with Surrey Services. For many
patients, CVIM is their only source of healing and hope, and a
provider of services they could otherwise not afford.
Making all of this possible are nearly 500 volunteers that
annually work with CVIM. These individuals include doctors,
nurses, interpreters, administrative support, students, and

more. Many are bi-lingual, assisting in translating for the nearly
65% of CVIM patients that are Spanish speaking. By donating
their expertise, resources, and over 56,000 hours of their time,
volunteers are the core of support and care here at CVIM. This
donated care was valued at over $2.5 million last year alone.
A volunteer endocrinologist, Dr. Joseph Reitano, has been
volunteering at CVIM for over seven years. He works primarily
with our patients that have been diagnosed with diabetes, of which
there are over 300. He came to know of CVIM through a fellow
physician, the late Dr. Frank Harrison, a former cardiologist from
Bryn Mawr Hospital who was a volunteer doctor at CVIM for
over 10 years until his passing. Dr. Reitano, retired from practicing
full-time, is now here at CVIM one to two days week, donating his
time so that our patients may better manage their chronic diseases.
"The patients here at CVIM are hardworking, but many are
still struggling. They want to keep working, but their chronic
diseases such as diabetes may prevent them from doing so." Dr.
Reitano, along with a staff Diabetes Care Coordinator, works
with patients on treatment plans, medication options, lifestyle
management, nutrition education, goal setting, and problem
solving. "I see that my patients are very grateful and happy to
be here. They are appreciative that there is a doctor here who
will listen and help them, and that they are receiving their
treatment and medications free of charge."
One patient of Dr. Reitano's, Sinforosa, is a 51-year-old
woman living in Coatesville, PA. She was diagnosed with diabetes
in 2012 and was put on insulin. For many years she struggled with
managing her disease and finding access to medication. In recent
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Chester County Medicine Fall 2019

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https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/CCMSMedicine/ChesterCountyMedicineSummer2021
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