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President,
Senior Scribes
C A R A M B A
By Delbert Blickenstaff
“Caramba” is a Spanish word meaning “my goodness,” in polite
terms. I can imagine that many migratory farm workers in Darke
County exclaiming caramba when they realized how difficult it was for
them to get and pay for medical care for their families. This was
the situation in 1964 when several thousand migrants, most from Texas
or Florida, came to work in the tomato fields. The Darke County
Public Health Department was concerned about their situation, and held
evening clinics staffed by public health nurses, volunteer local
physicians, residency physicians from Dayton, and other volunteers.
The Ohio Department of Health designated Darke, Mercer, and Shelby
counties as a migrant region. Federal legislation mandated the
formation of regional consumer Boards of Directors as a condition for
migrant health funding. Janet Johns, Jean Louise Thieme, and I
were the original incorporators of the Darke Mercer Shelby Regional
Health Services, Inc. on January 16, 1973. A regional consumer
board was formed, and I was the first president. The Board hired
Jean Louise Thieme as Project Director, and William Walkosak as
assistant. The first staff consisted of an RN, a health aide, and
a clerk/bookkeeper, Jenni Barnes, and operated in the old Eikenberry
grocery store on Sater street.
In June of 1973 the first Federal grant was received, and the Darke
County clinic was established in the basement of the north east corner
of the old Brethrens Home (now Brethren Retirement Community.)
The clinic operated 40 hours per week during the migrant season, July
through October. Dr. Daryl Parker was instrumental in getting
some of the local physicians to volunteer. Outreach into the
migrant camps and preventive health services were emphasized. The
Board of Directors decided to include medically indigent patients as
well as migrants. The local medical community was divided in its
support of a plan to provide medical care for the migrants. Some
doctors did not include them in their private practices, and at the
same time objected to a program of health care that was in part
financed by federal funds. They considered this a form of
“Socialized Medicine,” to which they were philosophically opposed.
Initially the Board of Directors was required to include a majority of
patients, most of whom were migrants. There was one group of
migrants in Mercer County who tried to take over our entire
operation. They started an argument at one of our Board meetings,
held in the Brick Room, and soon two groups were yelling at each other
in Spanish. We Gringos had trouble quieting them, and had to
threaten to call in the police.
In 1975 the project received a family planning grant from the Ohio
Department of Health. This grant has been renewed on an annual
basis, and was expanded to include prenatal services. Jean Louise
Thieme was responsible for obtaining these initial state and federal
grants. Also in 1975 I became Medical Director, working half time
for Family Health Service, and half time in private practice in
Versailles. WIC, the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition
Program, was started in 1977.
Darke County was designated by the federal government to be a medically
underserved area in 1977. This made us eligible for National
Health Service Corps physicians. Drs. William Eubanks and Bennett
Werner were our first recruits. Since then we have enjoyed the
services of Dr. Mary Beth Cass, Pediatrician, Dr. Joel Eikenberry, Dr.
Dan Berger, Dr. Tim Kathman, and Dr. Keith Ashbaugh, Dr. Carlos
Menendez, Dr. Karen Swensen, Dr. Tom Brown, and Dr. Beth
Vehre. Also in 1977 the project moved to a building on the north
side of Greenville. On May 3, 1977 Rev. John Paddock conducted a
dedication service for this new space.
In 1981 Jean Louise Thieme resigned as Administrator, and she was
replaced by Morrison Borders, who served in that capacity until Jay
Montgomery came in 1989. In 1987 the project moved to a new
building on the south side of the city, which provided more space for
expanded services. In 1988 I resigned and Dr. Menendez became the
Medical Director.
Peg Siemer, a family nurse practitioner, sees new obstetric patients,
and is trained in performing ultrasound tests. Jeanne Turpen is
the perinatal coordinator who teaches patients about their
pregnancies. In 1993 Family Health was recognized by the Ohio
Department of Health as a model Diabetes Education Center. Jewell
Crawford is the present diabetes educator. Jean Young has been
with Family Health for over 25 years and is the Operations
Director. Diane Bickel presently heads the WIC program.
These are only a few of the talented and dedicated people who make
Family Health the successful operation that it is. One of the
most significant changes in recent years was the addition of a Pharmacy
for Family Health patients. Janell Claudy is the head Pharmacist,
and she and her coworkers fill hundreds of prescriptions daily.
In 1997 Dr. Menendez, with help from Don Shuff, developed a new web
page (www.wesnet.com/familyhealth) to help explain the services
provided by Family Health. A new 30,000 square foot medical
building has been built to provide space for physicians who have joined
the medical staff: Dr. Dan Berger, Dr. Bill Osterbur, Dr. Don
Pohlman, Dr. Jodi McCartney, Dr. Bruce Bernie, and Dr. Rob
Kensinger. Drs. Jennifer Rawlins and Dr. Kenneth Harshbarger are
in Versailles, and Dr. Doug Riffel is in Arcanum. If Janet Johns
were still alive and saw what Family Health has become, she might very
well say “Caramba!”
Delbert Blickenstaff, M.D.
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