Sixty-one-year old Richard Lemon has spent much of his life pursuing dreams, some of which he realized and some of which were cut short by ill-health and misfortune.

As a student, he studied piano with the late John Simms, a well-known music faculty member at The University of Iowa. His occupations have ranged from clinical laboratory technician to manager of clothing boutiques for a French designer.

Lemon now serves as part-time organist for First Presbyterian Church in his hometown of Burlington, Iowa. Though he appreciates the beauty of music, Lemon’s steps are substantially slowed by a bevy of serious and often painful health problems.

These problems have ranged from angina and vascular heart disease to pancreatitis, diabetes, stroke, neuropathy, and urologic problems.

With his income severely limited by these disabling health problems, and lacking adequate health insurance, Lemon learned three years ago that he qualified for the Indigent Patient Care Program. Thanks to the program, which has provided a health care safety net to Iowans in need for over eight decades, he receives expert health care from physician specialists at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Lemon benefits directly from the Care Management Program at UI Hospitals and Clinics, which helps with medications and manages overall coordination of his care. The program was formed in 1997 as a way to increase patient satisfaction, deliver necessary care efficiently, and contribute positively to resource utilization management.

“I’m very grateful,” Lemon says. “It’s not so much that I don’t have any worries about my health, because I still do. Rather, it’s that I have no worries about whether I will receive health care, or have to worry about every medical expense.”

Donna Katen-Bahensky, director and CEO of UI Hospitals and Clinics, says the Indigent Patient Care Program provides needed support for Iowans like Lemon who might otherwise go without medical care.

“It’s really a ‘win-win’ situation for all concerned,” she says. “Indigent Iowans benefit from their access to the coordinated, high-quality care that UI Hospitals and Clinics provides in a single, comprehensive location. The residents of Iowa benefit from the significant amount of care rendered in excess of the state appropriation, and the UI benefits from access to additional patients to support its health professions training programs.”

Music provides a soulful escape for Richard Lemon, who serves as a part-time church organist despite a bevy of serious and often painful health problems.

“This program has helped me live in better health with far less worry.”

—Richard Lemon