Pediatric Clinic
Wednesday June 23, 2010
Free pediatric clinic opens today in Pittston. One night this past March, Monsignor John Bendik remembers sitting with others and musing about plans for a free pediatric clinic in the city, though they had "not a penny" in funding, he said.
Then the next morning, Patricia Prociak called unexpectedly. The executive director of the Colleen Shea Children's Foundation told Bendik her organization wanted to help fund the project.
"I don't believe you're calling me," Bendik said. "I'm shocked."
The support provided a boost to the pediatric clinic, set to open for the first time at 4:30 this afternoon. The clinic is part of the Care and Concern Free Health Clinic on William Street at the former Seton Catholic High School, which has been open for three years.
Volunteers believe the clinic, which will be open from 4:30 to 7 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of every month, will fill a health care gap in Luzerne County, where child deliveries far outpace the number of pediatricians available and some children find themselves without access to health care.
"Some of these kids are falling through the cracks," Bendik said.
Volunteer Nancy Baiera thinks the clinic, which will offer free medical care for children up to age 11, will be the first of its kind in the county.
The husband-and-wife duo of Dr. Michael Imbrogno and Sharon Imbrogno, a registered nurse, will take charge of the treatment, with help from a complement of volunteers. Their involvement began last fall when Sharon read a newspaper account of the need for a pediatric clinic.
"Sharon read it and read it, and finally said, 'We're going to do this.'" Michael Imbrogno said. "And here we are."
On Tuesday, volunteers put the finishing touches on the clinic, which includes a cheerful waiting room filled with toys and a television and three colorful exam rooms.
By this afternoon, they hope to be ready for their first patient.
"We don't know what to expect, but we're ready for everything," Michael Imbrogno said.
And they'll accept as many patients as possible, something the clinic's chief of social services Ann Cocco made clear as she carried stuffed animals into the clinic.
"We'll never, ever, ever turn anybody away," she said.
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