By Adam Kramer
Dhandai Persaud and Yelena Gorgov were so impressed with the care they received during childbirth at the Prenatal Care Assistance Program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Floral Park that they signed on as employees.
“It is great working here,” Persaud said, a bit impishly since she was embarrassed about talking about herself. “I like the PCAP and providing help to the patients without insurance. I was in the same situation. It is a great program.”
PCAP was started five years ago from a state grant to provide full maternity care for women who might not have the financial means to receive all-inclusive treatment — from pregnancy testing to follow-up care after the birth.
Persaud said she feels a great sense of accomplishment working at PCAP. Her job as a medical office assistant includes taking blood, talking to the patients and helping the doctors and nurses.
The Queens Village resident was brought to the United States from Guyana in 1984 by her uncle in the hopes of a better life. She was told about the LIJ program after going to Jamaica Hospital and had problems getting care because they did not have insurance and her husband made too much money to qualify for free treatment. She gave birth to a girl in 1999.
“I talk to them about what to expect,” she said. “Many have had bad experiences in other hospitals and I tell them it is different here, it is good here.”
Since she was a patient in the program, she is able to put to rest the fears of the new mothers. After talking to them for a while, she said, the women calm down and then slowly realize the program is there to help them.
The LIJ program provides ambulatory care to the mother and baby, said Dr. Jill Maura Rabin, head of urogynecology at the hospital. She said each mother is treated by the same team of maternity specialists so she sees the same faces and becomes more comfortable with the treatment.
Rabin said the five-year-old program, one of the oldest in the state, handles about 12,000 clinic visits per year. It has been so successful that similar facilities are opening up in North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System hospitals in Forest Hills, Huntington, Glen Cove and Manhasset.
“It works so well and makes such a difference in the health of the mother and infant that we have seen mortality rates drop,” she said. “We treat people as we would want to be treated.”
Women currently enrolled in Medicaid are automatically eligible for PCAP. About two thirds of the patients are on Medicaid and the remainder are on a sliding scale or have private insurance.
“I know this hospital for many years,” said Gorgov. “I had two of my three children here. In 1996, I started to volunteer and after my youngest boy was born, I got a job here.”
Gorgov, who lives in Flushing, came to the United States from Tajikistan, Russia in 1989 with her family so her mother could receive medical care — at LIJ — for a heart problem. But once here they could not leave because her mother needed follow-up treatment.
She said one of the most gratifying parts of the job as a medical office assistant is helping to calm mothers who have just joined PCAP. She said that after talking to them, she can see the relief in their faces.
“We always want to help the mother,” she said. “It is great helping the mothers.”
Gorgov, who also speaks Russian and Hebrew, is able to help out the staff by working as a translator when needed. The hospital also provides translators for all of the patients who do not speak English.
“Everyone gets taken care of equally,” Rabin said. “Nothing falls through the cracks. No one is left behind.”
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
