Of crucial importance is we have a first-class hospital and cancer clinic, many doctors skilled in every specialty. And now health care for individuals and families who work, but their employers do not provide medial insurance, and they cannot afford to buy it. Its name is Troup Cares.
In LaGrange there are many people who have jobs, work hard to stay off welfare, but don’t have what Troup Cares executive director Ken Young calls “a medical home.” Troup Cares offers free health care. It is not for the unemployed who qualify for Medicaid or PeachCare for children, but for those above the federal poverty line, currently an annual income of $10,830 for an individual or $14,570 for a couple. Any person working full time at the minimum wage would qualify for free medical coverage at Troup Cares. Families can be earning more, depending on their size.
Troup Cares has four doctors on duty at the clinic and 30 specialists who will accept members of Troup Cares for no fee, and this includes blood tests, X-rays, MRIs, etc. These public-spirited doctors have volunteered to work for free, as have all those who work at Troup Cares. Corley Drugs has volunteered to fill prescriptions at the lowest possible cost. And Troup Cares members also receive free dental coverage thanks to First Baptist Church on the Square.
Factors other than income necessary to enroll in Troup Cares are having lived in Troup County for more than six months, be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident, and be 19 or older. Older persons eligible for Medicare cannot join.
To find out if you qualify to have the free medical coverage, call (706) 882-9291 for an appointment.
Troup Cares board member Dr. Doug Decelle, pastor of First Presbyterian Church and who played a critical role in founding Troup Cares said, “The spirit of volunteerism which is so strong in Lagrange now makes it possible for those earning too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to pay for private medical insurance, to have a family doctor and a clinic ready to provide virtually total medical care for free. There are millions of similar people across the nation, but very few have anything like Troup Cares in their communities.”
That LaGrange does is something to cheer about.
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Something where cheering is not appropriate is downtown LaGrange. The new building proposed for Main at Broome streets - the former Seymour and Kress buildings - may contribute to making the LaGrange downtown a place to come.
However, while an additional restaurant and meeting rooms are welcome, downtown already has an eclectic selection of fine dining, but the loss of Mansour’s, leaving a large empty store front, was a blow to bringing people downtown other than for lunch or dinner. It’s true there are several stores left, including Solomon’s and a few specialty stores to attract shoppers, but it will take more than that to make downtown a shopping center.
I am sure the Chamber of Commerce and city officials are struggling for a solution. Certainly Mayor Jeff Luken has done much keep downtown alive and still works hard at it. But it’s going to be a difficult task to attract new stores to the area.
If downtown being a shopping center ceased to be the objective, and I think it should, a number of interestingly designed, upscale, five-room, including two bedrooms and baths, apartments in Mansour’s would revitalized downtown.
But as long as that row of empty display windows stare across Lafayette Square, the square sends the wrong message about the city.
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