Surgeon Demetrio Aguila saw a recurring problem at his clinic Healing Hands of Nebraska: patients who couldn’t afford the surgery. So, six months ago, the nerve specialist started a program that offers patients the option to pay for surgery by volunteering for local humanitarian groups. That’s right. Instead of drowning in medical costs, patients could actually volunteer to pay off their surgery costs.
For Troy and Bobbi Bowers, the arrangement seemed more than fair. Medical debt took them to the brink of bankruptcy, so they agreed to pay for Troy’s ankle surgery by volunteering at a local charity where clothing and household goods are donated.
Aguila and his staff calculate the number of volunteer hours based on the complexity of the surgery. When Jeff Jensen, a patient with nerve damage in his foot, signed on for the volunteer program, he received 560 hours of volunteering. The good thing for Jensen is that other people are allowed to help fulfill those hours. For him, more than 100 people stepped up to contribute—he knew less than half of them.
The medical costs in this country continue to be outrageously high, but it is heartwarming to see it’s possible to circumnavigate these costs through volunteering. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see similar programs pop up across America?
