As outstanding as it sounds, this is the case of one Doctor Gary Bolch. He said that the reason he chose to be a doctor was that he saw the need to offer care and treatment to the less fortunate. His inclination was on treating needy patients as well as those with no homes.
But the more he offered himself to this noble course, the more the patient’s health became detrimental. This was when it dawned on him that the plague here was not the illness but being poor.
And in 2005, he established a way of not only prescribing medicine but money as well. This is what he has been doing ever since. And it’s working.
In simpler terms, this implies that Doctor Bolch educates his clients on forms of enhancing their income, such as applying for disability funds or even welfare. What he does is walking his patient’s through the process of applying for the benefits made available by the government. According to Bolch, this role as well lies with the doctor. He goes ahead to say that social factors that affect human health, such as salaries, need to be treated too to ensure the wholesome recovery of patients.
Just like the Universal Basic Income and what it stands for, that if you so much desire to be of help to people, the best way to go about it is to avail more money to them.
Additionally, the doctor who works at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto has been advocating for a wider social policy paradigm shift. As a family doctor, he reiterates that addressing peoples’ poverty levels may be great, but he would fancy systemic change even more. In 2016, doctor Bolch was nominated as part of the Ontario team assigned to come up with a 10-year blueprint to income security for the community.
Despite a section of doctors distancing themselves from the course sourcing lack of resources and time to advise their patients on money, Bolch is appreciative of the immense support not only in Canada but around the globe.
Positive Results
So far, doctor Bolch is satisfied with the results that the initiative has brought. He speaks of one success story; a homeless guy from Toronto who had only himself, depression, diabetes, and other health challenges when he came in.
Within no time, Bolch and the team had managed to have him sheltered in a home to start with. The patient later got into a program for the disabled, managed to get proper food continuously, and later on an apartment. Also, through the program, he was able to meet other people. The program completely changed his life for the better.
This is one of the stories of amazing people doing amazing things for the people and the entire Canadian community. Doctor Gary Bolch chose to treat not only the disease ailing his patients but the social causes such as lack of housing and affordable health care. He believes that in order to help those in need, money is of importance, as demonstrated above. He has served and continues serving the Canadians by treating the sick and being a role model on how to solve some of the societal problems such as disease and poverty.
