The Daily Record
July 8, 2009
Melissa Shube

At the Zufall Health Center, the waiting room is always bustling. In the mornings, patients line up outside the building, and there often is no place to sit in the waiting room.

As the economy continues its downward tumble, the health center and other providers of low-cost health care in Morris County say more and more people are seeking their assistance.

"Any of my health centers can tell you that they're seeing increases of people coming through the door," said Kathy Grant-Davis, president and CEO of the New Jersey Primary Care Association, which coordinates federally qualified health centers, including the Zufall Center. Such centers are supported by the federal and state governments and must take all patients, regardless of ability to pay.

The economy is responsible for the increase, Davis said.

"More and more businesses are not able to afford to offer health insurance, and you have more unemployment," she said.

At Zufall, there has been a 26 percent increase in visits this year, said Eva Turbiner, the Dover center's president. In 2008, the center saw 8,300 patients and about 22,000 visits. In the first five months of 2009, there already had been 12,000 visits, she said.

NJ Family Care, a state health insurance program that covers children whose families don't have policies, and some low-income parents, also has seen a jump in enrollment: In June 2009, there were 12,362 Morris County children in the program, up 14 percent from June 2008. The numbers are more jarring for adults — a total of 4,738 Morris adults were enrolled in June 2009, up 49 percent from the previous year.

Pam Ronan, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, attributes the enrollment growth to an increased need for affordable insurance, as well as the program's outreach efforts.

"People do need (the insurance program) more. The economy is affecting families, and we're trying to respond to that," she said.

Turbiner said part of the increase at the Zufall center is due to the center's growing popularity and is unrelated to the economic situation. But many people, she said, are coming to the center because they have lost their jobs or insurance.

"We don't ask people," Turbiner said, "but they just mention the fact that they lost their jobs, lost insurance and they call around and try to figure out where they can go."

Bob Meyers, Zufall's director of operations, said he has seen some new patients, "including formerly employed business-type folks," he said.

The center is also seeing recent college graduates who don't yet have a job or insurance coverage, Turbiner said.

A similar story

At Planned Parenthood in Morristown and Dover, the patient load is up 9 percent for general health care services and cancer screenings. Finding resources to accommodate all the patients is the organization's biggest struggle, said Jeff Brand, president of Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey.

"Mostly we're seeing people coming in because they have some kind of pain. . . . People are putting off routine health exams in order to preserve their financial resources," Brand said.

Patients come to Planned Parenthood because the clinic is affordable and has a sliding pay scale, he said.
"They're coming to us because of the loss of jobs, the loss of health insurance. Essentially, the recession is taking the health care benefits from folks who recently had them," Brand said.

The trend may not be visible everywhere.

Ben Martin, a spokesman for St. Clare's Health System, said there was no notable increase in the number of patients at the St. Clare's Community Clinic in Dover.

"The volumes are about where they've been in recent months and, compared to last year, there hasn't been any marked difference," he said.

The Zufall center, like many of New Jersey's federally funded health centers, is expanding to accommodate the growing number of patients. The center already has hired more doctors, medical assistants and front desk staff.

New Morristown clinic

On July 20, the Zufall center will open a new office on Speedwell Avenue in Morristown. The office was planned before the recent increase in patient load but will help deal with the demand, Turbiner said.

Zufall also started an eco-friendly medical van that will travel to uninsured residents in Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex counties.

Ultimately, the low-cost health centers are limited in the level of care they can provide. The Zufall center can provide primary medical care to patients without insurance, but it cannot pay for medication, diagnostic testing and specialty care, Turbiner said.

"It's very hard day in and day out to see people who have no insurance and are really desperately in need of medical care," she said.

At the Zufall center, Carlos Gutierrez of Dover said Monday he recently was hired as a waiter and hoped to be eligible for insurance soon. His wife was laid off from her housekeeping job, he said.

In another room, Elisa Cruz of Randolph brought her 3-year-old daughter, Daniella, into the office for a checkup. She said she just moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, where she earned a degree in cosmetology. She has no health insurance, but her daughter is on Medicaid.

Mercedes Torres, who traveled to the center from Elizabeth, said she recently lost her job working in dry cleaning. "I'm always working," she said. "Twenty-one years, and I've never (been able to have) insurance."

Melissa Shube: 973-428-6628; mshube@gannett.com