Tournament is Friday May 3, check in at 10:00 am, shotgun start at 11:00.  Fauquier Springs Country Club.  Contact us with any questions: 540-347-0394.

by Alisa Booze-Troestchel, Clinic Volunteer

It’s not about money. It’s about people. It’s about living a balanced life. Stacey Shepherd lost a lot of annual income on Oct. 4 when she began work at the Fauquier Free Clinic. But, she gained satisfaction in her roles as a physician’s assistant and as wife and mom to two girls, seven and four years old.

“It’s hard not to enjoy taking care of this patient population,” Shepherd says. The petite woman with long brown hair and a heart-shaped face tells a story about a woman she’d seen the previous night. Even though she works both days the Clinic is open, she continues her nine years of volunteering at the Thursday night walk-in clinic.

She related a story about a recent patient encounter as an example of the kind of work she finds rewarding.  This patient’s medical history was as complex as her lifestyle. A hospital had recently released her from treatment. She had no home and lived at the shelter.

The woman did have a long list of medications, and a short supply of money. Thinking out loud, she wondered which were the most critical, and which she could do without.

Tears flowed down the woman’s cheeks when Shepherd told her about the Clinic’s prescription assistance. Patients pay two dollars per medication that the Clinic stocks. They pay nothing for other medicines at a local pharmacy.

Then Shepherd told her patient that she was referring her to a specialist for treatment. As is typical for Clinic patients, she would likely receive an initial visit free of charge. If ongoing care is necessary, the patient and specialist discuss the fees.

“She was overwhelmed,” Shepherd observed.

When Shepherd was a teenager, she wanted to be an athletic trainer. An unhappy internship during her senior year of high school showed that she needed to find a different career path.

What Shepherd knew is that she wanted children. She did not want to extend her studies into her thirties, and rack up a heavy debt load that some doctors accumulate. Shadowing a physician’s assistant revealed her road to take.

“Physician assistant’s school is four years of medical school crammed into two,” says Shepherd. Students are in the classroom during the first year, and do clinical rotations in the second.

Being a physician’s assistant at the Clinic fits with what’s important to Shepherd.

“It’s about quality of life,” says Shepherd. “My first priority is to be a good wife and a good mother.”

Every night at the dinner table, each person in Shepherd’s family names one thing for which she or he is grateful. A few weeks into her employment at the Clinic, both her husband and oldest daughter said they’re just glad she’s home every night for dinner.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2008 close to 10 out of every 100 adults in Fauquier County had been diagnosed with diabetes. The rate is a little higher in Rappahannock County – 10.7 percent. This is on par with the rest of the United States. In 2010 the CDC said 11.3 percent of all people have diabetes.

We’re doing something about that in our neck of the woods. The Fauquier Free Clinic has many special programs for our diabetic patients.

Diabetic patients referred into the program come to see a doctor every three months – the same doctor, every time. That way they get continuity of care. They and the doctor can work together to get that blood sugar down, way down! Patients have entered the diabetes clinic with very high blood levels of sugar, and have managed to lower the levels to almost normal!

One way they do that is to by working with Aren Dodge. She’s a volunteer dietitian and diabetes educator. She gives our patients great tips on how to eat healthier and stick to a budget.

Dr. Carmen Cioceanu runs the clinic. She’s the doorkeeper. She decides who can most benefit from the program.

Dr. Patty Daly is an endocrinologist who sees our patients in the diabetes program at the Rappahannock Clinic in Washington.

Doctors Kevin McCarthy, Michael Ackerman and Bill Simpson each have volunteered to follow about 10 patients at our Warrenton site.

This team of volunteers has been working with our patients and with our clinic since we started focusing intensely on diabetes back in 2002. How’s that for a dedicated effort?!

2011_5K

2011_10K

5K Results

10K Results

What a great day! Thanks to all our friends, cyclists, sponsors and volunteers, this year’s Rappahannock Rough Ride was a big success for our patients!  We had 267 cyclists on the roads of Rappahannock County, and raised over $20,000 for medical and dental care in the region.  These funds will be used to purchase medications and supplies and to support our hardworking volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses, and clerical staff.

Thanks to Our 2010 Sponsors

Airlie Center
Allergy & Asthma Specialists of NOVA
BB&T
Bike Stop
Blaser Physical Therapy
Coots Clays & Crabs
Dogpatch Farm
Drs. Egge & Hogge
Episcopal Church Women of Bromfield Parish
The Fauquier Bank
Fauquier County Medical Society Alliance
Fauquier Health
Firstcare Orthopaedics
Flint Hill Baptist Church
Framecraft of Warrenton
Freestate Electronics
Griffin & Errera Orthodontics
Jim Halpren
Hampton Foundation
Hampton Stock Farm
William A. Hazel, Inc.
Emily Henry
The Inn at Little Washington
Dr. Diane King & Mr. David Dodd
Kreyling Construction
Laurel Mills Store
Leading Edge Screen Printing
The Luke Family
Marriott Ranch
NOVEC
Old Dominion Hounds
Caroline & Chris Parrish
Piedmont Internal Medicine
Piedmont Family Practice
Piedmont Press & Graphics
Rappahannock National Bank
Sally Tufts
Pat Saltonstall
Merrill P. Strange
John & Beth Turner
Virginia Emergency Medicine Associates
William & Mary Greve Foundation
Fauquier County Medical Staff
Rick & Hilary Gerhardt
Virginia Radiology Associates
Woodside Pediatric Dentistry