Public Clinic Phobia

Isabella Davalos

K. Rogers

English 1A

19 March 2013

Public Clinic Phobia

            There are things in life that make us uncomfortable, wither its spiders, test or free clinics, we should be able to overcome them.  Public clinics or free clinics are federally funded health clinics unlike family practitioner offices that are funded by family medicine programs. Public clinics provide “cheaper” health care which attracts lower class citizens who cannot afford health care. If there were no longer public clinics that proved free health care, people who are considered a low income families could no longer receive decent health care. No matter how uncomfortable public clinics may seem to make me feel, without them lower class or people who cannot afford health insurance could not get health care that they may need.

            Public clinics are federally funded, which means that they are federally run. A public health clinic that I have visited was in a lower class community. That clinic seemed very rugged and did not seem to be very clean. The magazines were old and torn, the seats did not all match. Some seats had tears in the seams and others looked faded in color. The waiting room was filled with people whose shoes were very worn down, their clothes looked stained and children looked dirty with snot running down their faces. The secretary was very rude and seemed as if she hated her job and did not want to be there. The room that we sat in to wait for the doctor was painted white, but seemed dirty in some spots, all of this made me very uncomfortable.

            At my normal doctors office that is funded by family medicine programs was much different. The chairs all matched and seemed fairly new. There was a sick child’s side and a well child’s side, each side having new children’s toys. The ground was clean, there was no dust anywhere, the magazines were new and in good condition. The staff most importantly was friendly which made me feel comfortable. All around the waiting room, hanging on the walls were pictures of sports teams that had been sponsored by my doctor. The waiting rooms seemed cleaner than the public clinics because the furniture in the room looked new and was painted in a warm comfortable color.

            It’s not the fact that it is a “free clinic” that makes me uncomfortable it’s the surroundings that give me an uneasy feeling. If every public clinic had a warm and welcoming feeling I would not feel uncomfortable or easily judge the people who are in the waiting room. The people who are in the waiting rooms of public clinics may seem odd or “ghetto” looking but they are still people too and therefore should not be judged for getting health care. Everyone has a right to health care no matter how “ghetto” their appearance maybe. Ghetto is “. . .a particular ethnic group that may be looked down upon for various reason, especially because of social or economic issues. . . .” (Unknown)

            Another reason I feel so uncomfortable about being in a public clinic’s waiting room is because I have somewhat of a germaphobia. The beaten up chairs that had tears in the seams made me wonder how many people had sat down on that chair? In the waiting rooms the dirty walls also made me think of how many dirty little kid hands have touched that wall and how many of those kids were actually sick when they touched the surface of the wall. The people who appeared “ghetto” made me ask myself how long ago they had taken a shower or maybe how long ago they had washed their stained clothes. Watching the children with snot running down their faces and crying made me hope they would not run up to be and touch me with their germ filled hands. I found myself constantly looking around the room for any sort of hand sanitizer but to my luck, there was not any left in the dispenser.

            Sitting at my normal doctor’s office made me feel more comfortable than sitting in the public clinics waiting room. The appearances of the chairs being clean made me feel okay about sitting on them. The sick child’s side and the well child’s side gave me a bit of relief that I was not going to catch any contagious germ that someone had brought in. The surface of the walls appeared to be much cleaner than the public clinics’ wall. All of the surroundings gave off a cleaner vibe than the public clinic had. I found myself relax and at ease compared to sitting in the waiting room at the public clinics where I was constantly looking around the room, sweating profusely and felt somewhat scared of the people around me.

            Going to a doctor’s office the total appearance is very welcoming. The appearance maybe welcoming because they want you to spend your money there and continue to return. A public clinics appearance may not be so welcoming because it is a government run office. They don’t spend that extra dollar to make it a good experience like any other doctor’s office maybe. Since public clinics are available to everyone it attracts different types of people and different social classes that we do not normally see in a doctor’s office.

            With out public clinics people who cannot afford good health care will no longer be able to get health care. Getting the proper health care is very important especially for people with diseases such s chronic illnesses and others with syndromes that need medical attention. People who cannot afford health care should not be judged because they receive medical attention at a public clinic nor should lower class citizens be judged because they cannot afford to pay doctors bills. Sitting in a non government funded doctors office is a luxury that people with good health care take for granted. Taking into consideration if I was in a situation where I could not afford health insurance and I had to go to a public clinic to receive medical attention I would see it as a blessing. 

            Obama care is a “…health care reform debate in the United States. . . focusing upon increasing coverage, decreasing the cost and social burden of healthcare, insurance reform, and the philosophy of its provision, funding, and government involvement.” (Unknown) Obamacare is aimed at decreasing the amount of uninsured Americans and reducing health care cost. This could give the lower class a chance at being able to go to a family doctor that is in more of a comfortable environment. It will also allow people who have existing conditions to not be denied health care. With Obamacare people who normally could not afford to go to a doctor could finally get health care without the worry of expensive doctor bills. (Unknown)

            One in seven people who have preexisting conditions are denied health care insurance. Each year when there is an analysis done, there is a significant increase of people who are denied coverage. Insurance companies denied cover to 257,100 people that number has increased by 49% between 2007 and 2009. People who have prevalent heart disease which affects one in three adults can be denied health insurance. Pre-existing that are not as serious as many others can also be denied but they can also have higher premiums than someone who doesn’t have a disease. As of recently due to a health care reform bill, children cannot be denied health care insurance but that bill will not extend to all age groups until the year 2014. (Wang)

            Everyone disserves the right to affordable health care no matter if their income is low to high. Just because someone seems “ghetto” does not mean that they do not have the right to health care. Going to a public clinic and a regular doctors office may have different feelings but they are still the same services one may seem more welcoming than the other but in the end they are the same. A regular doctor’s office will treat you the same as a doctor at a public clinic would.

The reason I felt so uncomfortable in a public clinic was not only because of the surroundings but because my knowledge of them was very little and I was quick to judge the people who used their services, when at the end of the day those people were just like me, they need decent health care. It should not matter where they received health care; at least they are getting the help which they need. No one should be denied health insurance because of a chronic illness or disease that they are born with, it is no their fault nor anyone’s fault, everyone should be treated equally no matter the circumstances.

Work Cited

"Ghetto." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 March. 2013.   <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto>.

"Obama Care." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Aug. 2012. Web. 13 March. 2013.        <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_Care>.

Wang, Marian. "Insurers Denied Health Coverage." Top Stories RSS. N.p., 13 Oct. 2010. Web. 13  March. 2013. <http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/insurers-denied-health-coverage-to-1-in-7-people-citing-pre-existing-condit>.