The Catholic Standard and Times

‘Cover the Uninsured Week’
draws attention to plight
of 45 million Americans

By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer

Liberia native and Catholic Stephen Wreh and his daughter are two people who can appreciate America’s Cover the Uninsured Week May 1 – 8.

After spending more than a decade as refugees in Ghana, the 44-year-old Wreh and 14-year-old Elsa arrived in the United States in March 2005. Through the assistance of the archdiocesan Catholic Social Services (CSS), the two are now awaiting approval for refugee health insurance.

That is especially important for Wreh, who was recently diagnosed with an ulcer and high blood pressure.

“Without [CSS] it would be hard for me,” he said. “They listen to me.”

Wreh and his daughter emigrated to Bristol, where they were reunited with his wife, Marculeen, and 8-year-old daughter, Dekonte.

Shortly after their arrival in Bristol, Wreh went to CSS’ Bucks County Family Service Center in Levittown where he met case manager Allie Swiacki.

Wreh requested help enrolling Elsa in school; among the necessary prerequisites were immunizations and a physical. According to Swiacki, Wreh had no medical insurance and did not know where to take his daughter to a doctor.

Swiacki not only arranged for Wreh to go to a free immunization clinic at the Levittown Health Department, she drove him. At the same health department, he and Elsa were able to receive physicals.

After Wreh’s physical indicated he needed urgent testing for an ulcer and high blood pressure, CSS referred him to a free adult health clinic in the area. Once their refugee health insurance is approved, some time in the next few months, CSS will help Wreh select a doctor.

That’s not all. CSS is also helping Wreh, a former elementary school teacher, find employment and obtain a driver’s permit.

“I’m comfortable here because my family is here,” he said. “It’s a place for opportunity.”

He is also counting on his Catholic faith to help him and his family. “I always pray that things will be better.”

According to Swiacki, Wreh’s story is not an isolated one. Many refugees and immigrants have difficulty understanding how to access medical treatment and health insurance upon their arrival on U.S. soil. From diabetes to tubuclerosis, many arrive in the country with serious medical problems or after having been exposed to infectious diseases.

CSS’ efforts to assist the uninsured is “reflective of the parable of the Good Samaritan, or Matthew 25: “‘I was sick and you visited me,’” Swiacki said.

“There are so many people who are uninsured. Each individual has serious health concerns. CSS is [among those] tending to them, taking them to the doctor, [helping] them with resources. It’s so important. Some of my clients haven’t been to the doctor in five or 10 years. Women aren’t getting mammograms. Children aren’t getting eyeglasses. Being able to go to a doctor means so much to an individual.”

Father Joseph A. Tracy, the Archdiocese’s Secretary for Catholic Human Services, under whose auspices Catholic Social Services and Catholic Health Care Services operate, said 45 million Americans — including 8 million children — find themselves in the vulnerable position of being without health insurance.

In Southeastern Pennsylvania alone, there are more than 260,000 uninsured and nearly one in five is a child, he said. And Father Tracy said the statistics are only getting worse.

“Justice demands that something be done to assure all people can access adequate and affordable health care,” he said. “The social teaching of the Catholic Church affirms this as a basic human right since public health is an essential social good. The Church teaches that every person possesses a fundamental human dignity, and that each has a right to basic and continuing health care. ...

“Undeniably, health insurance for all is a challenging and complex issue, with many and varied proposals for addressing it. At its core, however, the deplorable number of uninsured is a crisis that is fundamentally a question of values.”