Underachievers, beware.
Dr. Myra White is a woman who lives for accomplishment.
She is both an anesthesiologist and a lawyer.
As if there were little in the way of personal and professional achievement, Dr. White has set a new modest goal for herself in opening a revolutionary new health clinic on East 180th Street in the Bronx.
The Three Graces clinic will offer quality medical care for people with no health insurance at an affordable and reasonable price.
“Out of our sixty-two counties in New York, the Bronx is ranked last in health and this is a problem,” explains Dr. White. “What is more upsetting is that we have the most clinics per capita.”
Dr. Myra White is hoping to get at a problem that has plagued residents of the county for many years, and looking to find a new solution that will improve their quality of life.
This past Fri., June 24th, Dr. White was joined by her associates in cutting the ribbon on the brand-spanking new facility that is decorated with colorful, welcoming touches.
“We want to cover people who aren’t insured, can’t be insured and can’t get into the system,” said Dr. White.
As she explained it, many local residents earn an income that keeps them in a health care quagmire. Their incomes are too high to qualify them for Medicaid while at the same time, they are unable to afford health insurance.
This seeming Catch-22 condition, adds Dr. White, too often leads to the negligence of one’s own health. As she sees it, the result is an ongoing disregard for basic primary care that can lead to far more serious complications.
And Dr. White wants to change that.
Three Graces offers a comprehensive annual physical examination for ninety-nine dollars a checkup. The checkups will include tests for diabetes, blood pressure and other diseases that claim the lives of too many every year. The clinic also offers memberships that will run the patient an affordable sum total a year. Along with affordable preventative care, the clinic offers reduced rates on costly bloodwork exams. And in case of emergencies, the clinic will also offer linkages to hospitals for its patients for prices far below that of the norm.
“People need to learn about this program, [as] it can save a lot of lives,” said Carlos Cortez, the Clinics’ Chief Marketing Officer.
Among the many local notables in attendance was Cheryl Simmons, an economic development representative for Congressman Jose Serrano. Simmons believes that the program offered by Three Clinics offers residents a promising gateway for a healthier way of life. The program, she belives, is going to give many people who have not seen a doctor for years the opportunity to get a simple check up.
The Center is home to six exam rooms as well as a lecture room that will serve to host seminars intended to educate the community about different health issues.
At present, the clinic includes two doctors, one of whom is Dr. Mitzi Reid, who has 25 years of experience in family practice. The clinic will soon also offer a pediatrician, clinical psychologist and a doctor for internal medicine.
The clinic as Dr. White explained, is striving to become, and to offer, something greater, and is hoping to expand in the near future.
Dr. White intends for the services available at Three Graces in the Bronx clinic to soon be available to all of New York, and soon, other areas of the metropolitan region.
As for the “Three Graces” name?
As you might guess for a woman who is both a doctor and lawyer, and is trained in the ancient trades, there is a story to be had.
Dr. White named her clinic after the three daughters of the ancient Greek god of medicine, Asclepius. They are Iaso, the goddess of Medicine; Panacea, the goddess of Healing; and Hygeia, the goddess of Hygiene. These three deities were called the three charites (graces).
It is Dr. White’s belief that her education has earned her a number of distinctions. Chief among them is the responsibility to put her hard-earned knowledge into practice and better the lives of those around her.
“This is important,” says Dr. White, and her track record would point to very good outcomes for the health of Bronx residents.
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