HONOR DUTY RESPECT - The Citadel

“This is not how I thought my life would turn out,” she said. “It’sbeen a struggle.”But Fitzpatrick, who had called on the Barrier Islands Clinic whenshe was employed, swallowed her pride and returned to the clinic,this time as a patient.“It’s not the American way to admit you can’t keep up with theJoneses,” she said. “But after I visited the clinic, I learned whata remarkable place it was. I’ve been treated better at the BarrierIslands Clinic than I was at most doctors’ offices when I hadinsurance. I’ve been treated with dignity, respect and compassion.”Fitzpatrick is just one of the 2,800 patients who have walkedthrough the clinic’s doors since it opened.“The recession has created an even greater need for our services,”said Spann. “We see patients with no insurance who are over theage of 18 and under the age of Medicare.”Spann, who grew up in Dothan, Ala., got a taste for practicingmedicine at the age of 14. When a cousin moved to Dothan tobecome the town’s general surgeon, he lived with Spann’s familyuntil he got settled.“There weren’t any regulations like we have now—CousinCharlie would take me to operate with him in the middle of thenight. I scrubbed up, held instruments to assist him and becamefascinated,” said Spann. “‘If you want to be a doctor,’ Cousin Charliesaid, ‘you want to go to The Citadel.’”Spann took his cousin’s advice and found himself at the militarycollege studying for a medical career.“The Citadel deserves a phenomenal amount of credit for what ittaught me,” Spann said. “Nobody needed to learn, ‘No excuse, sir,’more than I did. They jerked a knot in me those first few weeks, andI figured it was either put up or boot it over the wall, so I put up andstudied hard. That was because the traditions of discipline, hardwork and acceptance of personal responsibility were emphasized.It was very clear cut—the responsibility for my actions was mine.”According to Spann, the clinic is a free medical home anda medical advocate for its patients. The average cost fora primary care visit performed in an emergency room inSouth Carolina is $2,100. That same primary care visitat the Barrier Islands Clinic is $73.49, and the cost isabsorbed by charitable funds.32