Aliquippa physician Simmon Wilcox got early lessons in how unfriendly the health-care system can be to poor people.
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| Dr. Simmon Wilcox with patient Paul Stewart, who travels from Monroeville to Wilcox's Monaca office. (John Beale, Post-Gazette |
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He grew up in a house with 13 relatives. They were migrant workers who left Georgia to build a life picking potatoes on a Long Island farm.
In the 1960s, his sister was born with rubella, whose complications required medical treatment.
Her family had trouble getting her into hospitals and when they did, they were routinely ignored by physicians who didn't fully explain what they were up against.
That was enough to turn Wilcox into everything those doctors were not.
Today, he's a tireless family doctor who treats all patients the same.
Wilcox's compassion springs from a deep well of triumphs. With the help he received from family and friends, he overcame the challenges of poverty, childhood stuttering and teen-age fatherhood. When he sometimes helps his patients find jobs, he says, he's giving back for what was given to him.
"My interest is not just in treating blood pressure," the doctor says. "My commitment is to try to help improve the quality of life for all my patients."
For Wilcox, being a physician is an extension of the social work he did to pay his way through Boston University and part of the way through medical school at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. The work also builds on his earlier desire to be a minister.
Wilcox sees more than 5,000 patients a year, more than a third of whom have no insurance. They are the working poor and the unemployed.
The doctor fills the gaps by providing free prescription samples and offering care to the indigent.
"He's not just some sterile doctor who comes at you in a white jacket," said Linda Daugherty. "He's a generally caring person."
Wilcox has treated Daugherty for 17 years, seeing her through bouts of depression, diabetes and asthma. Daugherty, 53, is on Social Security disability and when times are tight, Wilcox accepts only what she can afford.
She ends her visit giving Wilcox a hug and a kiss on the cheek, grabbing prescription samples as she heads out the door.
Wilcox, 47, has practiced in Beaver County for 17 years. He has a private practice in Monaca and a service that provides alternative therapies in Rochester.
"He really is an inspiration," said Paul Stewart, 60, a retired aviator who's been with Wilcox for about six years. Stewart said that since he's been coming to Wilcox his diabetes has been better managed.
Three years ago, Wilcox spent 13 months in Jamaica, establishing a practice in Ocho Rios. While there, he learned about holistic, alternative medicine and saw it as a way to keep his patients healthy for less.
"I preach about lifestyle changes," said Wilcox, who encourages his patients to walk more and eat less.
Preventing disease is the best strategy. The earlier healthful habits start, the less the patient will be hit financially by the health-care system.
Wilcox took his concerns to the street four years ago. He was part of a medical SWAT team that hit Pittsburgh homeless shelters and food pantries to test the blood of people who frequent them for hepatitis. He'd also go out at midnight to test prostitutes for HIV and hepatitis C.
He also worked with Aliquippa's Church in the Round to establish a health center there and was one of the first doctors in Beaver County to treat patients with HIV.
"My patients have become like family," Wilcox said. "When I come to the office, it just doesn't feel like work."
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