Sadly shrinking SharedCare

Wednesday's editorial notes with unease cutbacks at another local charity - this time, one that fills critical gaps in the area health-care delivery.

SharedCare of Horry County was created six years ago with a $4 million budget to help low-income, uninsured folks find the medical care they need. Today, with funding from the federal, state and local governments and private sources drying up, SharedCare's budget is about $1 million - so something had to go.

Like nearly all similar organizations, SharedCare is going back to the basics, said Executive Director Phillip Williams, and that means eliminating its prescription drug program, the most important help for many. David Granger of Loris says he might not have survived without the heart medication SharedCare helped him buy after heart surgery. "This is a bad thing. ... A lot of people like me are out of work, in bad health who don't have any way to get their medication."

The prescription drug program was cut in a domino effect after the Chapin Foundation, dealing with its own money shortage, decided to limit its grants this year to programs that provide basic food-and-shelter needs. The same domino effect - one of the realities of the recessionary economy - applies to the SharedCare health care providers. Williams says while SharedCare, a facilitator, is having financial problems, so are its partners, the providers. They are seeing more uninsured patients - which drives up their costs - without any increases in other revenue.

The lack of funds could also mean an end to SharedCare assistance for physical and occupational therapy, unless providers of those important services renegotiate fees. Perhaps they will do so, though they are already accepting low fees. Certainly the patients caught in the squeeze hope that they can receive at least enough physical or occupational therapy to resume their lives.

SharedCare does not provide health services. It works with partners, such as physicians or therapists who provide the health care services. SharedCare helps with outpatient care only for low-income, uninsured residents of Horry County. Persons seeking SharedCare assistance must first attempt to qualify for Medicaid.

The state this year contributed $500,000 for SharedCare, about half of its budget. Money from the federal government, a major source of funding for SharedCare when it started, is no longer available. And it lost $20,000 when Horry County eliminated all its contributions to charities.

On the bright side, Williams says SharedCare will survive, despite the challenges. Radiology, specialty laboratory procedures and outpatient surgery funding will continue, as will dental assistance, which is funded by endowment.

Should SharedCare have to cut more services, Samuel Jassim of Little River is concerned about being able to afford the doctors' visits and testing supplies necessary to control his diabetes. Jassim is sanguine about the possibility, saying he knows if his SharedCare help is cut "my life is going to get worse," but "everyone I think is struggling, and that's just where we are at. We just have to accept it."

The plight of patients helped by SharedCare illustrates again the pressing need of charitable organizations for a strong mix of local, private and governmental support. For every front-line service provider, there is often a behind-the-scenes charity attempting to fill the gap between services and those who critically need them - and those are hurting as much or more so.

Like nearly all similar organizations, SharedCare is going back to the basics, said Executive Director Phillip Williams, and that means eliminating its prescription drug program, the most important help for many. David Granger of Loris says he might not have survived without the heart medication SharedCare helped him buy after heart surgery. "This is a bad thing. ... A lot of people like me are out of work, in bad health who don't have any way to get their medication."

The prescription drug program was cut in a domino effect after the Chapin Foundation, dealing with its own money shortage, decided to limit its grants this year to programs that provide basic food-and-shelter needs. The same domino effect - one of the realities of the recessionary economy - applies to the SharedCare health care providers. Williams says while SharedCare, a facilitator, is having financial problems, so are its partners, the providers. They are seeing more uninsured patients - which drives up their costs - without any increases in other revenue.

The lack of funds could also mean an end to SharedCare assistance for physical and occupational therapy, unless providers of those important services renegotiate fees. Perhaps they will do so, though they are already accepting low fees. Certainly the patients caught in the squeeze hope that they can receive at least enough physical or occupational therapy to resume their lives.

SharedCare does not provide health services. It works with partners, such as physicians or therapists who provide the health care services. SharedCare helps with outpatient care only for low-income, uninsured residents of Horry County. Persons seeking SharedCare assistance must first attempt to qualify for Medicaid.

The state this year contributed $500,000 for SharedCare, about half of its budget. Money from the federal government, a major source of funding for SharedCare when it started, is no longer available. And it lost $20,000 when Horry County eliminated all its contributions to charities.

On the bright side, Williams says SharedCare will survive, despite the challenges. Radiology, specialty laboratory procedures and outpatient surgery funding will continue, as will dental assistance, which is funded by endowment.

Should SharedCare have to cut more services, Samuel Jassim of Little River is concerned about being able to afford the doctors' visits and testing supplies necessary to control his diabetes. Jassim is sanguine about the possibility, saying he knows if his SharedCare help is cut "my life is going to get worse," but "everyone I think is struggling, and that's just where we are at. We just have to accept it."

The plight of patients helped by SharedCare illustrates again the pressing need of charitable organizations for a strong mix of local, private and governmental support. For every front-line service provider, there is often a behind-the-scenes charity attempting to fill the gap between services and those who critically need them - and those are hurting as much or more so.