The 3-minute interview: William Blazek
Barbara Hollingsworth, The Examiner
2007-09-03
BALTIMORE -
A former Army Ranger who served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, William Blazek is an adjunct assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He also spends time treating the homeless in D.C. while training to be a Jesuit priest.
How long have you been treating the homeless?
I arrived here a year ago, and I’ve been working with them ever since at Unity Healthcare at Second and D streets near Capitol Hill. This year I’m focusing on Spanish-speaking immigrants at the Spanish Catholic Center adjacent to Sacred Heart Basilica at 16th and Park Northwest.
How has this ministry changed you?
It reveals the humanity of the poor, their needs and isolation, but it also reveals my own limits and shortcomings. For example, I have a patient who really needs an MRI of the head, and if that person were insured, they’d be getting one very rapidly. But because of certain circumstances, it has been much more difficult to arrange. I often hit the limits of what I can do as a physician and also the limits of my own generosity.
What is your advice for well-meaning people who want to help but don’t know how?
Start with the first person you run into. Mother Teresa’s life was changed when she saw people stepping over a man lying in a train station and stopped to help. Brief encounters can be transformative for both the helper and the person who’s being helped.
The original article (here)
1 comment:
Blazek is also a tireless advocate for pro-life issues.
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