Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1180122
"There is a huge demand. I am probably the most booked-out optometrist in my city," he says. "Someone can come in and see me for a fairly short period of time, and I can do something fairly simple in giving them a prescription for a pair of glasses and fundamentally change how they live their life in a single visit, which is a really cool thing to be able to do." Dr. Stanton also helps connect patients with other charitable organizations that deliver care to the uninsured. "The part that is really stimulating mentally is this additional, 'How do we figure out who is going to provide this care, and how will it be paid for?'" he says. "It is like a puzzle." In addition to his work with Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans, Dr. Stanton is the Cha irma n/CEO of Mi les4Mig ra nts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that helps refugees transition to their new homes. He also takes annual trips to Honduras, where he works with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, a collective of optometrists who provide care in developing countries. LAUREL WILLISTON, MD, ST. JOHN FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR GOOD SAMARITAN HEALTH SERVICES For almost two decades, Dr. Williston has been devoted to caring for medically underserved individuals in her community. "My entrance into medicine was motivated by the desire to help those who most need it but have the least access," she says. "I hope to make a difference in the lives of those who are often overlooked, whether through medicine or simple human dignity." Through Ascension St. John/Ascension Medical Group, Dr. Wi l liston of fers clinica l ex per tise. Additiona lly, she helps remove ba rriers to ca re through her work with Good Samaritan Hea lth Services (GSHS), a nonprofit that delivers care to the poor and uninsured in Tulsa, Oklahoma. GSHS achieves this goal by bringing physicians, medicine and mobile labs directly to communities in need. "The work is very gratifying because even though not every patient is grateful, many of them are," Dr. Williston says, "and I can often see a real difference in their health and attitudes over time." She says the return to a simpler physician-patient relationship is rewarding to many of her colleagues as well, reminding them why they chose their profession. "Providing charitable care matters to the patients and to the community but also to you as a physician," Dr. Williston says. "It can help improve your mood, your energy level and renew your love of medicine." Nothing is more satisfying than when a patient's health improves to the level that financial assistance is no longer necessary, Dr. Williston adds. In some cases, these patients are inspired to give back by volunteering their own time, bringing charitable care full circle. n " There is less administrative burden and more medical challenge in caring for people with complex conditions but limited resources." — LAUREL WILLISTON, MD, ST. JOHN FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR GOOD SAMARITAN HEALTH SERVICES M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L N E W Y O R K ■ 2 019 1 3