free/cheap clinic?

FriendOfEvanWilliams · Mar 5, 2010

So I rolled my ankle pretty bad on the Bagby trail the other day and it's not getting any better. :s0161:

Normally, this is the type of thing where I just bear it until it heals up but I work on my feet 8+ hours a day, walking up and down 28 stairs at least 15-20 times a day. I don't want this to effect my feet permanently so even without insurance I'm seeing a doctor. Most clinics I've found charge a $80 to $175 deposit, which I do not have. In order to get any money I need to be able to use my foot, so I've got a catch-22. Here's the question:

Can anyone recommend a decent clinic that I can set up some kind of layaway plan or some such. I know I can go to the ER, but I think that would in the long run be much much more expensive. So if any of you could help me out with any suggestions I would appreciate it a lot.

Sincerely,
Jordan

ZachS · Mar 5, 2010

<broken link removed> in downtown Portland is fantastic - and their clinic definitely isn't just for homeless folks. I'm sure they can provide you with a referral if they can't help you or their location is inconvenient.

Until then, keep it wrapped, take ibuprofen, and try to stay off of it as much as you can!

Good luck.

gunnails · Mar 5, 2010

Tough it out, your only other choice is surgery, stay off it as much as you can then pick up an ankle brace of some sort.

Dr. = money and pain pills.

Been there (no money and injured), good luck.

ZachS · Mar 5, 2010

gunnails said:
Tough it out, your only other choice is surgery, stay off it as much as you can then pick up an ankle brace of some sort.

No offense intended, but that's terrible advice. I've seen doctors for joint injuries quite a few times, and not one has recommended surgery. A doctor can diagnose what exactly is wrong, take x-rays to determine if it's more than a soft tissue injury, and refer you to a physical therapist.

A good physical therapist is worth his/her weight in gold for these things. Jordan, a doctor at a community clinic will probably be able to refer you to one who works on a sliding scale. Although physical therapists normally see a patient at least a half dozen times, I suspect most would be willing to evaluate you and show you how to do the exercises you need in just 1-2 visits.

You will need to use your ankle for the rest of your life. Do what you need to do to get it checked out correctly.

gunnails · Mar 5, 2010

ZachS said:
No offense intended, but that's terrible advice. I've seen doctors for joint injuries quite a few times, and not one has recommended surgery. A doctor can diagnose what exactly is wrong, take x-rays to determine if it's more than a soft tissue injury, and refer you to a physical therapist.

A good physical therapist is worth his/her weight in gold for these things. Jordan, a doctor at a community clinic will probably be able to refer you to one who works on a sliding scale. Although physical therapists normally see a patient at least a half dozen times, I suspect most would be willing to evaluate you and show you how to do the exercises you need in just 1-2 visits.

You will need to use your ankle for the rest of your life. Do what you need to do to get it checked out correctly.

===========================================================

No offense intended.

That's fine if you have health insurance and or money to pay for a diagnosis and therapy, in fact I recommend that.

But if the choice is work or don't eat, then I would stick with the tough it out method.

duginsky · Mar 5, 2010

Some possible options:

http://www.centralcityconcern.org/oldtown.htm

http://www.mchealth.org/appointments.shtml

Best to get an opinion on whether it is soft tissue versus a tear, sprain, fracture, rupture, etc. For now: ice, anti-inflammatory, elevate, support.

Good luck

bolen05 · Mar 5, 2010

there is a no cost clinic that asks for a $20 donation in Vancouver just south of SR500. i think it is only open in the evenings on Wed. and Thurs. and is the no cost clinic of Southwest Washington Medical Center. I rolled my ankle some years ago and did not have insurance. I gave the requested donation and was seen my a Dr. Intern and was given referral for a free X-ray.

OcelotZ3 · Mar 5, 2010

Standard RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation until you can get it looked at, +NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

Elevation while lying on the couch can REALLY help these kinds of injuries, since fluid doesn't collect and you enhance fluid removal.

Wheeler44 · Mar 6, 2010

Elevation while lying on the couch can REALLY help these kinds of injuries, since fluid doesn't collect and you enhance fluid removal.

Good advice.....If it is an older lingering sprain or strain I alternate between heat and ice packs..about 15 mins ea. and if the hot pack was a poultice of willow bark ...so much the better....

cbzdel · Mar 6, 2010

last time this happend to me I was in the same suituation, but I work a desk job. I just took it easy in my off time and when I would go to bed at night I would elevate my foot with a pillow and I would either wrap in an ice pack or heating pad

elsullo · Mar 7, 2010

I am a patient at the Old Town Clinic at NW Ninth Ave and Burnside and recommend it highly. It is not just for bums and drug addicts, though you might rub elbows with one once in a while. Lots of ordinary working people go there, and the staff is really wonderfull---not at all snooty like in high-tone cllinics. It is a totally professionally staffed diagnostic clinic for low income people that charges on a sliding scale for low income folks---most pay ten dollars per office visit. They don't have their own full lab or x-ray facillities, but they can take specimens and will get you a really inexpensive referral to a specialist who makes exception to their fees for Old Town Clinic patients. Appointments can be hard to get, but if you ask them to call you when they can work you in they WILL call you. One problem is the lack of parking---lots of expensive metered street parking is around there, but bring a pocket full of quarters! The #20 Burnside bus stops fifty yards away.

Health care in America! Don't get me started.......................elsullo

FriendOfEvanWilliams · Mar 8, 2010

I was going to go to the Old Town, but ended up talking to a friend's step-father who was an ER doc in the past as well as an Army medic. No cost for him to tell me exactly what would have cost me several hundred at a clinic, or a thousand or so at the ER: either a bad sprain or very light fracture. Get an Aircast and some anti-inflammatories. I also got a blister pack sample of hydrocodone which works...but not for working. No horrible Vicodin related deep-fryer or meat cleaver accidents for me, thank you.

Thanks all of you for your help. The Old Town clinic is definitely on my permanent list of resources. Next time I'm injured and have money that's my first stop. But for now, a borrowed cast, free sample of painkillers, and a bottle of Ibuprofen comes out to about $995 cheaper than any
ER visit. I'm fairly certain that doctors are often as much of a scam as shady auto mechanics. The average person is too lazy and stupid to do their own research so when a simple problem comes up they immediately run to a doctor who can charge as much or as little as they want to because the patient puts his complete trust and faith in the doc. Unnecessary tests and scans are the same thing as expensive diagnostics work on a car. The fuse on your car that runs the light that tells you you're overheating blows, and upon finding out just the fuse is blown the mechanic overhauls the entire cooling system. Hundred of dollars spent when the issue could be fixed for a few pennies and a little elbow grease.

Sorry about the rant there...just a little frustrated by the whole system. Thanks for all your help.

Jordan