By Emily Raymond
The cost of health care is constantly rising, and Latter-day Saint doctors are trying to help by traveling abroad and offering their services free.
Dr. Robert Romney, a physician at the BYU Student Health Center, has been to Tonga three times to provide humanitarian aid and free health care.
'The reason we originally went was the Tongan Medical Society asked for an LDS doctor to come and talk to them on women''s health at a seminar they were holding,' Romney said.
Once he got there, he saw more needs.
'I recognized that the greatest need was material and equipment, so I organized a committee there of all the churches,' Romney said. 'I came back and organized a group of donors to donate paint and cleaning supplies. The floors were unkempt. The walls had paint peeling off. It was horrible.'
Romney, who pays his own way, also recruited other physicians to travel to Tonga with him.
'On one occasion, they had a bishop that contracted tetanus,' he said. 'It costs about $30,000 to go to Australia' because there are not enough specialized physicians in Tonga that treat tetanus.
Romney mentioned this need to a friend of his, a respiratory therapist at Utah Valley Regional Hospital. The friend came -- and brought a surplus ventilator.
'We saved his life,' Romney said. ' is the only reason I do it. If I didn''t believe in service, I wouldn''t be going.'
Several groups of BYU students have already gone forth to serve. The BYU Pre-Dental Club travels to the Galapagos Islands every Thanksgiving to do free dental work.
Doctors do not have to go far to find service opportunities.
Intermountain Health Care''s American Fork, Orem and Utah Valley Regional Hospitals are providing more charity health care than ever.
'This year, we''ve had a 52 percent increase in charity care,' said Kye Miner, IHC manager of community health partnership. 'There''s a huge jump this year in charity care, which reflects what''s going on in the community. People don''t have insurance and companies are dropping that option.'
To assist those in need, American Fork, Orem and Utah Valley Regional Hospitals offered more than $5 million in charity care in 2002. However, not everyone is eligible for this care.
'Anyone can apply for charity care,' Miner said. 'You go through the application process just like you would for Medicaid...or anything else. It asks for assets and how much you make. At that point, it goes to a formula.
'Depending on how much money they make, people will go to a sliding scale, where you pay a certain amount of money towards your bill.'
In addition to the charity care, IHC offered more than $25 million in free screenings and educational services in 2002, Miner said. Examples of this are the free diabetes clinics and breast cancer screenings offered each year.
'We''re here for the community,' she said. 'We''re run by the community.
'If someone comes through the door for an emergency situation, then has to aid that person without asking for pay or insurance ahead of time,' Miner said. 'In terms of coming in for procedures or care that is non-emergent, they can turn you away if you don''t have the money up front.'