
DATE: Monday, October 13, 1997              TAG: 9710130069

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   82 lines

CLINIC HELPS LOW-INCOME FOLKS IN A BIND

The bulbous, nickel-sized ``strawberry'' birthmark just under Kimberly Seiger's lower lip brought stares.

So her parents, Bonnie and Bob Seiger, without medical insurance and lacking the money to pay for surgery, convinced Kimberly that God had given her the mark to make her special.

But Dr. Karen Remley, the volunteer pediatrician who gave the 5-year-old a school physical at the free Beach Health Clinic knew the bright red protrusion would elicit more than curious looks from classmates. She knew how brutally blunt kids can be, so the doctor arranged to have Kimberly's hemangioma removed, free of charge.

``Anyone who saw her saw the birthmark first,'' said Remley, who spends two mornings a week providing care to children whose parents can't afford a pediatrician.

To finesse the gratis procedure, Remley networked within her profession, ultimately getting it paid for by Children's Special Services, a state program. Bonnie and Bob Seiger, meanwhile, advocated for their daughter at Remley's urging.

``It takes a real strong mom and doctor,'' said Remley, adding that she's ``more of a social worker here sometimes.''

One recent morning, Remley checked on Kimberly's progress, taking a close look at the slightly red dimple that dots her chin as healing from the August operation progresses. The girl's mother looked on, beaming.

``She wasn't too sure when she first looked in the mirror'' after the surgery, said Bonnie Seiger. But Mom was happy.

``At 3 and 4, kids are curious,'' she said. ``As they get older, they can be mean'' without realizing how their comments can hurt.

``Not only is she a great doctor, she's a wonderful person,'' said Seiger, nodding toward Remley. ``And not just for the poor. We were hard out on our luck. She genuinely cares about people.''

Kimberly is one of 2,000 Virginia Beach residents treated free of charge last year at the Pacific Avenue clinic. Some 200 doctors and nurses give their time to help low- and middle-income folks without insurance, providing 800 volunteer hours a month for nearly 6,000 patient visits.

About half the clinic's patients hold jobs that don't offer medical insurance, said Patricia Jordan, recently resigned executive director. Others who come to the clinic have lost insurance because of pre-existing conditions, have disabilities, or have been laid off.

To qualify for services at Beach Health Clinic, an individual can earn up to $15,000 a year - 200 percent of the poverty level. The maximum for a family's earnings is adjusted; for a family of four, for example, the limit is $28,000.

The clinic, with an operating budget of about $280,000 last year, is funded, in part, by donations to the United Way of South Hampton Roads. In 1996, the agency received more than $25,000 from United Way, whose campaign, now under way, has raised $6,352,138.

Remley says volunteering at Beach Health gives her an outlet for longstanding urges to help others. She once worked as a Peace Corps volunteer, and ``always wanted to be a nonprofit.'' Until about a year ago, she worked in the emergency room of Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk. She recently received a master's in business administration from Duke University.

Remley's husband, John Onufer, is a heart specialist who also gives time to the clinic, as do the couple's two daughters, ages 9 and 11.

Parents struggling to make ends meet often ``don't know how to open that door'' to help, said Remley.

``Anybody who shows up here has already climbed a mountain,'' Remley says. ``For some moms, that's a battle.''

When Kimberly Seiger was born, doctors predicted that the facial birthmark would go away.

It has, thanks in large part to Karen Remley. And Kimberly is just as special as ever, says her mom. ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot

Dr. Karen Remley, a volunteer pediatrician at the Beach Health

Clinic, examines Kimberly Seiger, 5. Remley arranged to have a

birthmark removed from under the girl's lower lip. The clinic is

funded in part by United Way donations.

1997 UNITED WAY GOAL

VP GRAPHIC

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]

SOURCE: UNITED WAY KEYWORDS: UNITED WAY