- 11 surgeons, 9 anesthesiologists, 36 nurses and 52 professionals from different medical specialties donate their time and talent to offer surgical interventions to patients who do not have health insurance
On a life-changing day, they had more than 20 low-income patients at Kaiser Permanente Irwindale medical offices chosen to receive free surgeries they couldn’t otherwise afford.
One of the beneficiaries is the Hispanic Karla Hernández, whose free surgery was saving news, not only because of the surgical intervention itself, but also because of the total payment for the treatment.
“Thank God it’s free because I don’t have insurance and they gave me the opportunity,” Hernandez told ABC.
Proud to make a difference in the community by providing free surgeries to more than 20 uninsured patients @EastValleyCHC pic.twitter.com/hYmc3r8Eba
— Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center (@KPBaldwinPark) September 17, 2022
Hernandez, soon to be a new mother, was treated for a hernia thanks to the program that offers free surgical procedures to the uninsured and underinsured in the San Gabriel Valley.
All patients have an income at or below 350% of the federal poverty guidelines and do not qualify for public health assistance.
“Directly, we’ve maybe impacted more than 350 lives now in terms of doing surgery or a procedure, but the impact really extends further with thousands of volunteers that we’ve had over the last 13 years,” said Kaiser Dr. Permanent, Phil Mercado.
In total, 11 Kaiser Permanente surgeons, 9 anesthesiologists, 36 nurses and 52 other medical professionals donate their time and talents to help patients in need of surgery that they find difficult or impossible to pay for.
For many of the patients, their medical problems often prevent them from working or fully functioning in their lives, making surgery truly life changing.
Hernandez stated that she was very excited to have the surgery and eventually be able to have her newborn baby.