© 2009 American Public Health Association DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.145623
Karen W. Geletko, Leslie M. Beitsch, and Robert G. Brooks are with the Division of Health Affairs, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee. Mark Lundberg is with the Division of Health Access and Tobacco, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Karen W. Geletko, MPH, Division of Health Affairs, Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 W Call St, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300 (e-mail: karen.geletko{at}med.fsu.edu).
In the absence of meaningful health reform, Florida implemented a volunteer health care program to strengthen the existing safety net. Since program implementation in 1992, over $1 billion of services have been provided to uninsured and underserved populations. Currently, over 20 000 volunteers participate statewide. Key incentives for provider participation have been an organized framework for volunteering and liability protection through state-sponsored sovereign immunity. Volunteerism, although not a solution to the health care crisis, serves as a valuable adjunct pending full-scale health care reform.
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