Dr. Edwin L Nirdlinger This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Immergrun, Inc. | Organization & Board

   www.immergrun.org/board.html - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/5/2007   Last Visited: 12/5/2007

   Immergrün, Inc. was formed in 2003 by Dr. Nirdlinger and Mr. Drescher.

2. 2. toledoblade.com

   www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs. - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/31/2003   Last Visited: 6/1/2003

   Mennonite farmer Stephen Newswanger, left, Dr. Ed Nirdlinger, center, and Amish farmer Eli Hilty tour St. Anne Mercy Hospital.
   ...
   Dr. Nirdlinger has formed Immergrun.
   ...
   Dr. Ed Nirdlinger reacted with surprise the first time one of his Amish patients bartered for medical care.
   
   "They'd say, ‘Can you take a quilt?'" he recalled.
   
   But when he found out the high prices that many Amish and Mennonite people pay for health care, Dr. Nirdlinger became angry.
   
   "I realized they didn't have insurance because of their religion, and then they began to tell me the other prices they were paying," he said.
   
   In November, Dr. Nirdlinger, a Toledo area general surgeon, formed a nonprofit organization to negotiate lower health-care prices for Mennonites and the Amish.
   ...
   An expensive medical bill for one patient could end up impoverishing an entire Amish or Mennonite community when they all try to chip in to pay, Dr. Nirdlinger said.
   
   He first began seeing Amish and Mennonite patients about seven years ago. Last year alone he performed 180 hernia operations on Amish and Mennonite patients from around the country.
   ...
   While many hospitals or physicians may be reluctant to work with an effort like Immergrun's, Dr. Nirdlinger said he thinks an Amish and Mennonite foundation will be appealing.
   
   It's extremely rare for Amish or Mennonite patients to refuse to pay, which is what frequently happens with non-Amish or non-Mennonite patients without insurance, he said.
   ...
   Dr. Nirdlinger is supporting most of the initial expenses out of his own pocket. The foundation has about $6,000 to work with, along with a computer he purchased, software, and the time of one of his office workers to help administer the foundation.
   
   He said he's a novice at fund-raising, and hopes more hospitals and physicians agree to help out.
   
   "I can't just ask every doctor in town to start taking quilts," he said.