Klarinet Archive - Posting 000101.txt from 1998/05

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Musician Medical treatment center
Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 09:35:43 -0400

I came across this:

A medical melody for downbeat musicians

In this story: 'It's a wonderful service they're providing' Serving rock
and classical musicians Related sites May 2, 1998
Web posted at: 11:46 p.m. EDT (0346 GMT)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Some days, trombonist Mark McGrain was so far down he
couldn't get himself to crawl out of bed, let alone make his gigs. Then he
injured his ankle and was afraid it might be broken.

It had been several years since he left the faculty of Boston's Berklee
College of Music and, with it, his health insurance. He couldn't pay a
doctor.

"You're very lucky if you can even eke out a hand-to-mouth existence in
music these days," McGrain said.

Then he heard a radio broadcast about Louisiana State University's new
medical clinic for musicians, where the doctors charge what the musician
can afford -- a minimum of $10, more depending on the patient's income.
It's thought to be the first of its kind in the nation.

A physical, an X-ray, a pair of crutches (it was a sprain, not a break),
and a prescription for an antidepressant got McGrain up and about again.

"It dramatically changed my ability to work," McGrain, now off the
crutches, said last week as he headed to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage
Festival, where he performed.

'It's a wonderful service they're providing'

McGrain is among about three dozen singers and instrumentalists treated at
the LSU Medical Center Musicians Clinic since it opened March 18.

It is a thank-you note to a business that is vital to the state and New
Orleans, with its thriving traditions of jazz, rock and other musical
styles. Music sustains an estimated 50,000 jobs in Louisiana and pumps $2.2
billion a year into the economy.

"I think it's a wonderful service they're providing," said Roger Lewis, a
56-year-old baritone sax player. "Usually, they don't recognize you till
you're dead and gone. They give you all kinds of awards -- the key to the
city -- when you're on your deathbed."

The clinic, which for now is open only Wednesday afternoons - - is not an
emergency room. Rather, it's a place where musicians can get a physical,
basic treatment and referrals to specialists.

That is what makes it different from other medical centers for performing
artists," said Ellis Johann Bultman, one of the creators of the clinic.
"The others treat medical conditions that are caused by or affect their
performance -- repetitive stress injury, for example, or hearing problems.

Serving rock and classical musicians

The clinic is open to New Orleans-area musicians, from rock to classical.
A musicians union card is all that's needed. For those who don't have a
union card, a committee of musicians decides whether the would-be patient
is a professional based on the person's work experience.

The doctors and nurse practitioners who staff the clinic donate their time.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, which puts on the annual
Jazz Fest under way now, is a partner with the Daughters of Charity
Services of New Orleans and the LSU Healthcare Network.

"This town has a lot of aging musicians going on without health
insurance," said the 43-year-old McGrain. "We're losing too many players.
If we can keep them a little healthier and going on, the community will
certainly benefit."

Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Related sites:Note: Pages will open in a new browser window LSU
Medical Center The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

David Blumberg
reedman@-----.com
http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Music/Blumberg.html

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