New Orleans Musicians' Clinic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic (NOMC) is a health service providing New Orleans musicians access to affordable medical services utilizing such facilities as a medical school, volunteers, and community providers. The NOMC hosts community blood drives including live performers supporting the Blood Center of New Orleans.[1][2]
The NOMC is a subsidiary arm of the New Orleans Musicians' Assistance Foundation (NOMAF) and was founded as a partnership with Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center together with a group of advocates including Jack McConnell and Bethany Bultman, who is also the current CEO and president.[4][5]
The NOMC was the brain-child of Dr. Jack McConnell MD (retired),[6] as he performed "Bill Bailey" with the rock band Phish, at the 1997 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The idea behind the clinic
McConnell met with a team of health advocates for the working poor in Louisiana and musicians' advocates to come up with a medical safety net for New Orleans' musicians. Louisiana has had universal health care since the 1930s, when Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long (1928–1932) pushed a number of bills through the 1929 session of the Louisiana State Legislature to fulfill campaign promises including a universal health program for hospitals and universal "charity" care.[8] In 1995, McConnell set out to design a comprehensive health care system to treat musicians.[9]
Sphere of Support: Medical, Emotional, Financial, and Social
The NOMC's expanded social services include the registration of patients in pharmaceutical assistance programs, crisis and case management, electronic medical records, identifying musician-patients, referral to and follow-up with appropriate agencies, and involvement in regular meetings with partnering organizations to provide outreach to patients in non-clinical settings.[9] The clinic is also involved in local government efforts to improve the health of musicians, such as supporting a ban on smoking in New Orleans bars.[10]
Partnerships
The NOMC works with neighborhood groups like the Musicians' Protective Union. In the Tremé neighborhood, NOMC collaborated to create the St. Anna's Episcopal Church Musicians' Mission, a lively jam session held weekly, which includes a free meal and a "resource hall", providing multiple services such as 5 point anti-stress acupuncture, legal advice, housing assistance, and medical and mental health screenings, and social service referrals.[9]
