thank you! - Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS
THE AL HIRSCHFELD FREE HEALTH CLINIC
As happened in 1987, when The Actors’ Fund created The AIDS Initiative in concert with the establishment of funding support
from Equity Fight AIDS, in 2003 The Actors’ Fund established The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic with an initial grant of
$300,000 from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Dedicated to the memory of the great Broadway caricaturist who died in
January 2002 just short of his 100th birthday, The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic is located on the 2nd floor of its Aurora Residence
at 475 West 57th Street in New York City and serves members of the entertainment community who otherwise would lack access to
adequate medical care.
The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic was launched to address the very clear, immediate need of members of the entertainment
community who are uninsured or underinsured. People who work in the entertainment industry have a high uninsured rate. They
work in uncertain careers and may not make medical care a priority, ignoring symptoms, concealing diagnoses, and putting off
treatment.
With the contributed services of a corps of physician volunteers under the fulltime direction of Dr. Jim Spears, and working in
collaboration with Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons, The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic provides necessary
medical services and works to prevent illness and emergency room visits that result from neglecting health care.
The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic provides primary and specialty care, health screenings, and patient education. Lab testing
provided through the Clinic is free to uninsured patients. The Clinic is open five days a week and has a physician on-call even when
closed. Primary care includes routine preventive medical care, ongoing management of medical problems, and urgent sick visits.
Specialty care is provided following an evaluation by a primary care doctor. Then a referral is made to a specialist – whenever possible,
to a volunteer specialist at the Clinic. Preventative care includes flu vaccinations, mammograms, prostate examinations, breast
examinations, tuberculosis and diabetes screening, blood pressure and cholesterol testing, and vision screening.
At a series of annual Health Fairs offered in partnership with New York Presbyterian Hospital and Better Wellness and You
(BWAY), the Clinic provides diagnostic screenings on a broader scope including blood glucose levels, blood pressure measurements,
blood cholesterol levels, and mammograms to hundreds of health fair participants.
The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic physicians are sensitive to these health issues and aware of the warning signs of neglect,
malnutrition, substance abuse, and mental health concerns. If needed, eligible patients are also referred to The Actors’ Fund social
service programs, through which they may receive individual counseling, referrals, and financial assistance toward living expenses.
Many individuals who receive social services and case management at The Actors’ Fund first made contact at an initial visit to The
Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.
BC/EFA considers its support for The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic to be an important, new priority in the catalog of services
funded at The Actors’ Fund. In 2003, doctors at The Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic saw 791 patients – 331 men and 460 women –
providing a total of 1,532 client visits in such areas as dermatology, family and general medicine, infectious diseases, and internal
medicine, and giving 1,795 flu shots.
Just some of the many medicines and supplies available to Hirschfeld Clinic clients, Dr. Jim Spears examines a client,
the front line at The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic – Ruth Shin, Dr. Jim Spears, and Yossi Faber.
the actors’ fund of america
10