GARABED FATTAL’S FREE HEALTH CLINIC IN BINGHAMTON, NY
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September 12, 2009
Long before there was the current concern for the millions in
the United States without health insurance, or the money to pay
for expensive healthcare, there was a compassionate and dedicated
individual who did something creative and constructive about this
dilemma.
It was in 1997 that Dr. Garabed Fattal established a free clinic,
subsequently named after him, in Binghamton, N.Y. In the last 12-plus
years, 400 to 500 volunteer physicians, nurses, pharmacists, lab
technicians, and office personnel have devoted their free time every
Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to as long as it takes, to
service indigent people and those without health insurance. At present,
the weekly work load includes 100 to 120 patients, and climbing. There
is also a Wednesday evening dental program serving the clinic patients.
"Since the time when we started this system in 1997, we have not even
once interrupted our services because of lack of personnel," Fattal
related proudly, during an interview with this writer at the recent
Armenian Medical World Congress held in New York’s Hilton Hotel over
the July 4th week.
Over the last 12 years, the Dr. Garabed A. Fattal Community Free
Clinic has processed over 40,000 patient visits. Located in Broome,
Binghamton’s largest county with a population of 250,000, the clinic
also serves people from surrounding counties and neighboring upstate
Pennsylvania. "We don’t discriminate," he stated with emphasis.
Fattal was 67 years old when he retired from a large consolidated
hospital facility where he was the chairman of a centralized and highly
sophisticated department of pathology. He is also a clinical professor
at the Upstate Medical University where he has been a 30-year member
of the admissions committee. It was when he retired that he decided
something must be done for those without health insurance in the
Binghamton area.
Stand up and be counted
What motivated him? "Many people are unable to obtain and pay for
healthcare. It was unthinkable for me that this most advanced and
sophisticated society can’t take care of its own people. In America
today, there are almost 50 million people with no health insurance,
and another 20 to 25 million with inadequate coverage." He decided
that "those of us who have been in the healthcare professions should
stand up and be counted."
It took two years to convince other retired doctors to open a
clinic. It was not easy. He had to find a locale to practice, and to
convince the local hospitals to treat the patients for free. "It was
a very long and complex job. We finally ended up with a system in
the county health department pro bono with examination rooms. When
the day workers leave, we come in after hours," he explained.
And then there was the all-important issue of money. "We had to
prod the county." Half a million dollars were needed per year-all
through donations. New York state, the county, and local charities
all contributed, and the rest came from many generous individual
donors. Fattal has been one of the major donors.
Care, aftercare, and medicines were given to the patients without
charge. In addition, when a patient was in need of an operation,
a sophisticated hospital procedure, or further research on a case,
the hospital did it for free. "This was an opportunity to tell a
hospital CEO to help us," he related.
Currently, still on the faculty of the medical school, Fattal is
aware that other people will have to be groomed to carry on this
crucial endeavor, and he’s hard at work doing so. "I’m not a doctor
who retires, goes to Florida and plays golf. And, I have no interest
in healthcare politics," he said, pointing out that the clinic was
named after him only after the continued insistence of his colleagues.
A 500-year community
Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1927, Fattal comes from an Armenian family
with deep roots in Aleppo for more than 500 years. He explained
that there has been an Armenian community in Aleppo during these
five centuries, with many Armenians emigrating from Giligia over
the years. "There is a 500-year old Armenian church in Aleppo named
‘Karasoon Mangantz Yegeghetzi’ dedicated to the 40 Armenian martyred
children. It is a beautiful old church, big like a cathedral,"
related Fattal.
Following the Armenian Genocide, his father Asdvadzadour (God-given)
chaired a committee of the Salvation Army that found homes and jobs
for the genocide survivors who settled in Aleppo. "The local Muslim
community welcomed the huge influx of Armenian survivors. The Armenians
felt safe there."
The Fattal family going back centuries had been in the rug making
business (Fattal being the Arabic word for weaver). From 1907-08,
his father, who had studied law in Istanbul in the early years of
the 20th century, returned to Aleppo. Following World War I when
Syria and Lebanon became French colonies, his father became a judge,
rising to the highest court in the country.
His mother Mariam was born in Aintab. Her grandfather’s brother was
the priest of the Aleppo Armenian Church, and while still very young,
his mother was sent to Aleppo. Young Garabed was one of six children of
Asdvadzadour and Mariam Fattal, all of whom having become professionals
in different fields.
Studying at the St. Joseph University Medical School in Beirut,
Garabed Fattal graduated in 1953, and emigrated to the United States in
1954. Specializing in pathology, he went to Manitoba, Canada in 1955,
and for the next 10 years, was on the faculty of the University of
Manitoba Medical School and Hospital. Due to a friend’s urging, he
came to Binghamton, where there was a great need for an experienced
pathologist.
At Binghamton General Hospital where he worked for the next 25 years,
he became director of laboratories. When Wilson Memorial, Binghamton
General, and Ideal Hospitals consolidated, he became chairman of the
department of pathology and director of clinical laboratories (with
250 professionals), retiring from active practice in November 1994.
Fattal, at 82 years young, has also been deeply involved in the
St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in Binghamton, serving
as its parish council chairman for 12 years. He skis, plays tennis,
and bikes long distance, but above all, he prefers to talk about his
pet project. "The people who are the core of this voluntary medical
program are so committed, so dedicated. Some of them work on the
staff of the community hospital, but they approach this after-hours
volunteer program with utmost devotion."
While he would like to pass the baton in the near future to a younger
individual, Fattal states without hesitation that this program is an
"absolute joy" for him, and that he intends to "stick around as long
as possible."