1 8 Joy of Medina County Magazine | February 2019 TALES OF A MOLD WARRIOR GEMS
Betrayal of the Flowers
Filling the Health Gap
by Paul McHam
by Kent Von Der Vellen
The basement can be the No. 1 place to find mold in a home, with attics being a close second. This is because of the many ways water can enter the picture. It is important to understand that water can show up as relative humidity in the air, as puddling on the floor, or just as the level of saturation in the floor joists, the sill plate, the rim joists or even in the foundation’s surface. It does not matter whether the surface is terra-cotta tile block, cement block, or a solid poured-cement wall. The level of moisture in these basement areas is known as surface water activity.
While working in a Parma emergency room, Dr. Kim Bowen discovered many patients had jobs but no insurance and a neighbor was unable to get needed blood pressure medicine because he did not have insurance. This led Dr. Bowen to create the Parma Health Ministry. A er moving to Medina, he once again discovered the cost of medical care was keeping people from seeing doctors and getting prescriptions. He approached others with the idea of opening a clinic in Medina like the Parma one. Two men, Dr. John Surso and Phil Brewer, joined the effort and became board members. In 2004, the Medina Health Ministry opened its doors and began providing care to county residents. The name was changed to the Free Clinic of Medina County in early 2018 to better communicate the services provided. Twenty-four doctors and nurses volunteer at the clinic. A majority of the clinic’s patients get free diagnostic testing through Cleveland Clinic and free prescriptions through pharmaceutical company programs. Nancy Peacock, clinic executive director, works with area employers to ensure new hires who do not qualify for medical insurance are aware of the services the free clinic offers. Those eligible for services must be employed Medina County residents between the ages of 18 and 64, not be on Medicaid or Medicare, and have an income within 250 percent of the poverty level. In 2018, incomes qualifying for service ranged from a family of four with an income under $62,750 to a single person with an income under $30,350. The long-term goal for the clinic is to add locations in Brunswick and Wadsworth, in addition to the clinic’s existing locations at Cleveland Clinic Medina General and Cleveland Clinic Lodi Hospital. Hours are by appointment only, which can be made by calling 330764-9300 or e-mailing info@FCOMC.org. An annual August pig roast is the clinic’s main fundraiser. More information and tickets for the roast are available at https://bit.ly/2QrWVqA. Volunteers with office, administrative, or medical experience are needed. To volunteer or to make a donation and learn about the Logsdon Family Foundation $25,000 matching pledge, go to www.FCOMC.org.
Water can leak into the basement through step cracks or horizontal cracks in the mortar between the blocks. Blocks even can crack through the middle, with large enough cracks that you can look through and see your car in the driveway. A block foundation wall can withstand about 650 pounds of horizontal pressure before it will break and crack. Without proper drainage, about ¼ inch per foot for a minimum of 10 feet from the foundation, water can freeze against the foundation. As water freezes, it can generate up to 27,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. With this in mind, look at your flower bed against the house. You might think, “Oh yes, I have plenty of slope away from the house, I can tell by the mulch.” The problem is that water permeates the mulch and is held there so foliage can use the moisture. If you dig down to the clay, you will o en find the clay has a reverse slope against the house. So the water runs through the mulch and back against the house on top of the near-impermeable clay. When reviewing basement problem areas, keep in mind that the foundation likely was installed all at the same time. Whatever is happening in one part of the basement is likely to soon spread throughout the basement. Paul McHam is a local expert on mold remediation. For more information, visit his website at http://myairxperts.com/ and his Facebook page Moldsporewars http://bit.ly/2E2Fj3y or call 330-658-2600.
Kent Von Der Vellen is a 20-year Medina resident. He has been a volunteer for various youth sports teams, is a member of the Medina Lions club, and, with his wife, Kim, founded the Jakob F. Von Der Vellen Memorial Foundation. Contact Von Der Vellen by e-mailing von106@gmail.com or by calling 330-421-0863. Learn what other area non-profits need by visiting Giving Hearts at JoyofMedinaCounty.com