Z. I.A. D. Healthcare for the Underserved Inc. and Wayne County Public Health Department agree to collaborate in service to working poor.
Newly appointed Wayne County Public Health Director Dr. Anaheid Kulwicki and Dr Ibraham Ahmed Executive Director of Z. I.A. D. Healthcare for the Underserved Inc. have agreed to collaborate together to better serve the working poor.
(PRWEB) April 25, 2003
Collaboration will better serve working poor in Wayne County, Michigan 8th largest county in the United States.
Z. I.A. D. Healthcare for the Underserved Inc. and Wayne County Health Department have agreed to collaborate to better serve the poor and working poor with primary health care. It is both the Wayne counties goal and Z. I.A. D.'s goal to serve the poor and working poor with primary health care, and both will do this by a collaborative cross referral program between the two."This is a good way to help those that need it", said Dr Anaheid Kluwicki, newly appointed Wayne County Public Health Department Director.
ZIAD Health Care for the Underserved Inc. a newly formed 501c3 non-for profit has moved on its mission in the Tri County Detroit area. Z. I.A. D. has provided services to persons in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
Armed only with some caring doctors, a good executive director, and board members ZIAD set out to explore ways to help the uninsured.
The concept that ZIAD began with was to begin to recruit other good intentioned providers that have clinics in the tri-county area to agree to see those without insurance on a sliding scale. An individual could pay from 0 to 100% of their bill based on their ability to pay. Federal poverty levels were used to set the scale.
Doctors in the program are well-intentioned doctors and are willing to give back to the communities they serve. Starting out with 4 clinics in September 2002, ZIAD is now up to 28 clinics. 16 clinics in Detroit, 1 in Novi, 1 in Clinton Township, 1 in Trenton, 4 in Dearborn, 3in Warren and 1 in Romulus. All providing care to the uninsured on a sliding scale. ZIAD Health Care for the Underserved Inc. has seen over 4,000 patients in need in just 8 months.
ZIAD hopes to be able to see 15,000 plus patients and have at least 50 locations by late 2004. At present ZIAD is not funded by anyone. The Executive Director Dr Ibraham Ahmed RN “hopes for some major funders to recognize the importance of this project and a resource directory to help the many uninsured persons”. The cause is right and we would hope those funders would step forward. In the meantime ZIAD will do all it can in partnership with Physicians, and others across the counties that are willing to make a difference.
ZIAD Healthcare for the Underserved Inc. is holding a collaborative Silent Auction at the Michigan Coalition of Human Rights Annual Dinner that will be held in Detroit on May 18th. Governor Jennifer Granholm will be the Keynote speaker. ZIAD Health Care for the Underserved Inc. will also be holding its Annual dinner at Burton Manor in Livonia on September 19th
According to the most recent data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of uninsured increased by 1.4 million and is now approaching 41.2 million Americans. Working adults account for 59%-almost two thirds of the uninsured population. In Michigan, there are approximately 1 million residents without health coverage—the majority of these individuals are from working families.
To contact ZIAD Health Care for the Underserved Inc., please call Dr Ibraham Ahmed RN - Executive Director at 313-815-8767 Web address: www. ziadhealthcare. org
