A number of years in the past, one oncologist’s highly effective act of kindness made nationwide headlines—and it’s nonetheless touching hearts at present.
Dr. Omar T. Atiq, a most cancers specialist in Arkansas, cleared over $650,000 in unpaid medical debt for his former sufferers, providing them a brand new starting and a long-lasting reminder of what real compassion in healthcare seems like.
The story started in Pine Bluff, the place Dr. Atiq had spent many years serving the neighborhood via his most cancers clinic.
When it got here time to shut the clinic’s doorways, he and his household determined to vary lives far past their hometown: forgiving medical debt for sufferers who had already endured a lot, so they may give attention to their therapeutic.
A clinic formed by a physician’s kindness and dedication to care
For practically 30 years, the Arkansas Most cancers Clinic offered life-saving remedy for individuals who couldn’t all the time afford it.
Sufferers in Pine Bluff, particularly these with restricted revenue, as soon as needed to journey greater than 50 miles to obtain most cancers care.
Dr. Atiq made it his mission to carry remedy nearer to dwelling—and to make it accessible to everybody.
“One precept I’ve all the time adopted is, I’m right here to see sufferers. For anyone to belief their lives in my fingers is the best privilege and honor I can get,” Dr. Atiq explains to CNN. “We by no means refused any affected person for any cause.”
Even when sufferers couldn’t pay straight away—or in any respect—they had been by no means turned away. He centered solely on affected person care, leaving the billing particulars to his workplace employees.
Discovering the load of medical debt
It wasn’t till Dr. Atiq and his spouse began closing the clinic and reviewing affected person accounts extra carefully.
What they discovered deeply troubled them. Some sufferers had been struggling to make even small funds—$5 or $10 at a time—on massive balances that had grown over months or years.
“There has all the time been a component of doubt in my thoughts about our fellow residents, fellow human beings having to fret about paying for companies when they’re sick,” he shared throughout an interview.
Whereas lots of his sufferers had some type of insurance coverage, the price of most cancers remedy typically left them with excessive medical debt.
Some had been aged. Others had been working a number of jobs to remain afloat—even whereas going via chemotherapy.
That realization led Dr. Atiq to a life-changing choice: he would cancel all remaining money owed as a last reward to his sufferers.
Physician cancels affected person debt with vacation playing cards
Every affected person acquired a private vacation card from Dr. Atiq to ship the information.
The notice thanked them for trusting him with their care and allow them to know their excellent payments had been cleared.
Physician cancels affected person debt wasn’t only a headline—it was a actuality for dozens of households.
The money owed ranged from a couple of hundred {dollars} to tens of 1000’s.
But it surely wasn’t concerning the quantity for Dr. Atiq and his household. It was about doing the best factor.
“We’re blessed that we didn’t want the cash,” he defined. “So we determined to only cancel and forgo the debt—and we did.”
A legacy of a physician’s kindness lives on
Although the clinic has since closed, the ripple results of this physician’s kindness proceed.
Dr. Atiq now serves as a Head and Neck Surgical procedure professor on the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Most cancers Institute, the place he nonetheless teaches and treats sufferers.
His former sufferers had been safely transferred to proceed receiving care at an area hospital.
And whereas the monetary assist was appreciated, many say his unwavering empathy and devotion to affected person care left the deepest mark.
“The braveness and the resilience and the decency that I’ve discovered from my sufferers is invaluable,” Dr. Atiq stated, reflecting on his many years of service.
As an immigrant from Pakistan, Dr. Atiq was drawn to oncology as a result of he lacked specialists in his dwelling area.
When he got here to the USA, he noticed the identical want in Pine Bluff—and as soon as once more, he stepped as much as fill the hole.
Forgiving medical debt for sufferers turns into a robust instance
By forgiving medical debt for sufferers, Dr. Atiq didn’t simply assist ease monetary burdens—he set a robust instance for others within the medical neighborhood.
His story has continued to encourage discussions concerning the position of compassion in healthcare and the way easy acts of generosity can have a long-lasting impression.
In the present day, his identify continues to be spoken with gratitude by the individuals he helped—lots of whom might transfer ahead with out the crushing weight of debt behind them.
By one unforgettable act of a physician’s kindness, Dr. Atiq reminded the world that drugs isn’t nearly curing—it’s about caring.
Watch FOX 16 Information share the story of Dr. Atiq’s physician’s kindness in motion:
Associated Posts:
Uncover extra from My Optimistic Outlooks
Subscribe to get the most recent posts despatched to your e mail.
