LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A Lexington nonprofit is providing free, medically necessary outpatient surgeries to uninsured patients — and demand for the program continues to grow.
Surgery on Sunday offers free outpatient procedures to uninsured Kentuckians who cannot afford the cost of care. According to the CDC, 28 million Americans did not have health insurance last year.
The idea for Surgery on Sunday came to founder Dr. Andy Moore through experiences he shared with his father's practice — witnessing firsthand the patients who needed care but could not cover the cost.
"One day we were at a meeting at Saint Joe and it was another indigent care, primary care delivery, and I was on the board and I sort of mentioned that... they were complaining that they had surgical patients they couldn't get. Done; and I said look, I've been thinking about this," Moore said.
That idea, born in a hospital meeting in 1995, has grown into a program that helps uninsured Kentuckians access surgical care they otherwise could not afford. Moore is a third-generation physician.
Executive Director Laura Prewitt said the organization performs a wide range of procedures.
"We perform any basic outpatient surgery that any of the clinics or hospitals do. I don't think there's been a surgery that we haven't been able to locate the specific surgeon for we do the only thing we really don't do is joint replacements," Prewitt said.
Consultations and referrals take place at the Surgery on Sunday building on Harrodsburg Road. Patients then travel to the Lexington Surgery Center, where volunteers perform the procedures on Sundays. Patients must be referred by their physician.
Prewitt said the smaller setting allows for a higher level of personalized care.
"We treat the patients even better than they get at local hospitals or clinics, because we're a smaller group. They get one on one. If we have patients that do not speak English, we have medical interpreters there for them," Prewitt said.
Surgery on Sunday operates entirely without government funding.
"We're fully funded by private donations and by grants. We get no federal funding. We get no state funding, and we've got a very low budget, but we're able to do it because of the contacts we have in the community," Prewitt said.
Most of the surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists donate their time — and some travel from out of state to volunteer.
"We have one gentleman that that flies in once every two or three months to help us from North Carolina, and we have nurses that come from, you know, an hour away that we start surgeries at 6:00 on Sunday and they're waking up at 4:00 to get to us," Prewitt said.
That commitment has allowed Surgery on Sunday to provide care for thousands of patients who might otherwise go without.
For more information on Surgery on Sunday, visit this link.
Ana Medina is committed to covering stories in your community that matter to you. If you have an idea, reach out to her at ana.medina@wlex.tv.
