Franklinton pediatrician struggles to help some of the city's poorest patients and still pay his bil

[The Straight Story]

Franklinton pediatrician struggles to help some of the city's poorest patients and still pay his bills

Last weekend, the gas was turned off at Dr. Edward Cutler's Franklinton office.

It wasn't the first time.

And he just avoided an electricity shutoff by paying an overdue $400 bill.

On Tuesday, Columbia Gas reconnected service after Cutler paid his bill.

Now, he has to replace a water heater.

Such is the life of a pediatrician who serves scores of the poorest patients in a part of town where few doctors practice."

I make nothing. I haven't paid myself a salary," said Cutler, who now uses credit cards to pay bills.

So why does he stay?

"I don't know," Cutler said. But he added: "I'd like to practice until I die."

The federal government has designated Franklinton a health-professional-shortage area. It's difficult to earn a lot of money in an area with so many poor people.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/14/a-practice-in-peril.html?sid=101

[cutlassmama]

1. Doctors aren't making big salaries, it's the crooked insurance companies

and big pharma that make the bucks