It was raining and it was dark. The light coming from Country Doctor
Community Clinic was yellow and warm, like a contented kitchen, and
this was not misleading. You could, in fact, go into this place for
refuge and help (and an escape from the sort of thinking teabaggers
do). Country Doctor Community Clinic, founded in 1971 by community
activists, has always been a thing from another, better place and
time. They take you in regardless of whether you can pay. And on
this Wednesday night, this little building was the only thing lighting
up the corner of 19th Avenue and Republican Street on Capitol Hill: a
literal beacon. It was also artists’ night at the clinic, which is kind
of like ladies’ night at a bar—specials! creatively described
illnesses!—but no artists had been there, said the nice lady
under the pretty stained-glass window at the reception desk.
In fact, no artists have ever been to artists’ night at
Country Doctor Community Clinic.
Artist Clinic, as artists’ night is called, began in January as a
yearlong pilot project put together by Country Doctor and Washington
Artists Health Insurance Project (WAHIP). In 2006, WAHIP released a
fact sheet about the need for artists’ health care: Artists are
slightly more likely than the general population to be uninsured (a
rate of about 15 percent in Washington State), and an additional 30
percent of artists are considered underinsured (they spend more than 10
percent of their annual expenses on medical costs) or at-risk
(uninsured in the last three years). A cartel of funders including
Artist Trust, Musicians’ Association of Seattle, and MusiCares cobbled
together a pot of about $8,000 for the pilot, called the Artist Clinic.
By simply filling out a form that demonstrates a commitment to their
art, uninsured artists can get $75, up to twice in a year, to cover
medical services or prescriptions at Country Doctor. (It’s intended to
help artists establish primary-care relationships and help with basic
needs, Artist Trust executive director Fidelma McGinn says.)
But eight months came and went with no artists at artists’
night. So in August the program shifted to make the vouchers available
for appointments at any time (and to loosen income requirements). Since
then, six artists have gotten on board. Okay, but… where the sick
artists at?
“None of us can really figure out why nobody’s responding to it.
It’s baffling,” says Miguel Guillen of Artist Trust. “We know
people need it. We know it’s a tiny subsidy. But this is a pilot
project. It’s incentive money for organizations to try to get out there
and fund these types of projects into the future, so we’re like, ‘Oh
my god, artists, get out there and use these funds.'”
No one knows about it! The only reason I took advantage of it was because I am on the Artist Trust mailing list. And to assume that the majority of artists are on that list or associate/affiliate with Artist Trust perhaps optimistic or just establishment-centric. In a word, the “word” out on the program is rather insular. However, the voucher was incredibly easy to get. People will surely sing up now. It seems that musicians are eligible too. These vouchers are a total blessing!
I would love to sign up for this, I’m uninsured. If they’ve loosened their income restrictions I’ll take another look but as far as I know I didn’t qualify so why bother (I heard about it through Artist Trust too)? I’m sure many artists with day jobs are caught in limbo -we don’t make enough to pay for health care, but we make too much to qualify for benefits or programs.
I too heard about it through Artist Trust and although I currently have amazing insurance from my day gig, was very excited for the program.
It seems like the problem is publicity. There are so many artists I’ve spoken with who have no idea what Artist Trust is. I can’t count how often I’ve said “www.artisttrust.org” to another artist. Granted, most of them are not fully established or are new to the area.
I wonder why Artist Trust doesn’t flyer the bulletin boards in artists buildings, such as the 619 building, Tashiro Kaplan, etc.? Marketing tends not to be a strong suit of many nonprofits because funds and personnel are limited, but even simple announcements with an “about us” and some services offered would be helpful. What if they had volunteers go to the various neighborhood art walks in the city and hand out pamphlets or cards?
Definition of Teabagger from Urbandictionary:
1) one who carries large bags of packaged tea for shipment. 2) a man that squats on top of a womens face and lowers his genitals into her mouth during sex, known as “teabagging” 3) one who has a job or talent that is low in social status 4) a person who is unaware that they have said or done something foolish, childlike, noobish, lame, or inconvenient.
I am uninsured and always worried about it. My friend e-mailed me this just now. I didn’t know about it and I do receive Artist Trust announcements and had apply to various grants already with them. I think some artist like me are so cut in getting income for rent, food and utilities that we often leave health to last. I am definitely going to one of this wednesday clinics. Just by talking about it we are advertising it. I will e-mail this article to my friends. Word of mouth is the most effective tool for advertisement. Maybe all 6 people who went already can write a short description of their experience and the benefits they got. Thanks for thinking about us (artist).
I too have never heard of this clinic, and not only am I an artist, but I am currently doing some pro-bono photography for A Country Doctor for their fund raising efforts!
I receive Artist Trust announcements, as well as regular communications from the Mayors Office for the Arts, King County for Culture, and Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. Yet I have never heard of this program before. Thank you Stranger!
What a ridiculous article. The emphasis should be on a promising program that hasn’t figured out how to get word out to its constituency…instead, somehow it is the artists fault they aren’t using it. Lame.
I’m a somewhat-starving artist. Fortunately, I get health coverage through my domestic partner.
I, too, think this is more a problem of publicity. I had not heard of this before either. It is obviously a good program and is needed. So it seems equally obvious that the problem isn’t that artists aren’t interested, it’s that artists aren’t aware of it.
I’m a writer. Do I qualify as an artist? I’m certainly starving, and have no health coverage…
The really interesting part of this article (for me, at least, as a marketing/communications writer as well as a poet) is the lack of contact information. How do I find these people? Make an appointment?
I can see that I can go through artisttrust.org… but isn’t there a more direct route?
Even in an article on lack of publicity … there is none.
Cyrano / Dave
cyranowriter.com
Baffled? For starters, artists aren’t aware of this program and neither are the clinic’s appointment setters. I just called and mentioned WAHIP. The receptionist told me she was ‘sorry she couldn’t give me any information on the program’. She giggled and said she ‘just didn’t know’ and suggested I ‘look it up online.’
Apparently, the steps are as follows:
Complete an intake form; Fax said intake form to Artist Trust for review; If you qualify, a voucher worth $75 towards your clinic bill will be emailed or snail-mailed to you; Take the voucher in with you to your appointment at Country Doctor.
Printers? Fax machines? Waiting periods? This needs to be an email only or automated phone process.
Great idea but you have a long way to go. I won’t be recommending this program to any of my artist friends any time soon.