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Pinellas doctors care for uninsured

The head of county health services praises two physicians who have opened clinics.

By PAUL SWIDER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 9, 2007

Dr. Kamajian, his wife, Debra Kamajian, center, and Karyn Wilcox wait for patients at the Indian Shores clinic. He chose his location because it's near his home but also because there is a need.
	[Edmund D. Fountain | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Edmund D. Fountain | Times] Dr. George Kamajian, 57, of Urgent Care Center in Indian Shores doesn't accept insurance but prices his visits affordably.

It hurt when she coughed, but small-business owner Kathleen Glass didn't have health insurance, so she felt she could do nothing.

"I figured I'd have to sit there and suffer, rather than go to the ER," said Glass, 58, who runs Cool Crystals, a Largo gift shop.

Then Glass saw an ad for Urgent Care Center and thought she'd try it. As it turns out, it was almost like going to the emergency room because the walk-in clinic is run by Dr. George Kamajian, a 30-year veteran of an ER in Fall River, Mass.

"I don't like doctors, typically, but this guy's a saint," Glass said. "Believe it or not, there's a doctor who cares."

Kamajian not only diagnosed Glass' pain coming from a broken rib, he could tell by her walk that she had high blood pressure.

After decades in the ER, seeing not only trauma cases but also scores of the uninsured with acute ailments, he's developed a keen eye for diagnosis. He has also decided the uninsured are a market worth serving.

"We're children of the '60s and we want to be able to fill a social need," said Kamajian, 57, who lives with his wife, Debra, near his clinic at 20001 Gulf Blvd. "It's part of being a doctor."

Kamajian got into emergency medicine because he was an "adrenaline junkie," he said. He'd still be there making good money but for a knee injury that keeps him from standing for long hours. He says he now has a chance to take another look at his life and his work.

Kamajian chose his location because it's near his home but also because there is need. The service workers on the gulf beaches are often underpaid and uninsured, but he said there are plenty of homemakers and small-business people who need help, too.

There is government care for the truly poor, so he wants to fill the niche for those not as poor but otherwise excluded from what he calls the "labyrinth" of the health care system.

Kamajian doesn't accept insurance but prices his visits affordably and has arrangements with some labs to provide discounted services. At $75 a visit, it's far cheaper than going to the ER, he says.

"The more people in the area that focus on the needs of the uninsured, the better," said Rhonda Russick, who runs the health center at the St. Petersburg Free Clinic.

Russick aims for a similar clientele, those without insurance but not so destitute to qualify for Medicaid or old enough for Medicare.

With nearly a fifth of Pinellas County's population falling in that category, she said there's room for many more like Kamajian.

Dr. Al Kaspar has a similar clinic in South Pasadena, though he does accept insurance and Medicare patients. Still, his walk-in fees, like Kamajian's, make care available to those in between. "I do it because I can go to bed with a clear conscience," said Kaspar, who has run his Medic-Care Clinic since 1990.

Kamajian and Kaspar may be the only two area doctors focused on the uninsured or underinsured market, said Dr. Paulette Thompson, the medical director of the county's Health and Human Services Department.

She said there is a good business case for investing in people's wellness, not just treating their illness, so it makes sense to return to reasonably priced care that anyone could afford on their own.

Kamajian hopes others will mimic his approach. He's testing the business for a couple of years to see if he can make it work.

He augments his income with a weight-loss clinic but thinks the walk-in can be sustainable for himself or others, as long as no one gets greedy.

Paul Swider can be reached at pswider@sptimes.com or 892-2271.

Fast facts

Urgent Care Center

20001 Gulf Blvd.

Indian Shores

517-1500

Medic-Care Walk-In Clinic

6801 Gulfport Blvd. S

South Pasadena

347-6334

[Last modified October 8, 2007, 20:50:47]