ARTS DOCS GET PERFORMERS BACK ON THEIR FEET.

FOR PERFORMING artists with little or no health insurance, getting sick can be scary. But thanks to Physician Volunteers for the Arts, a free medical clinic for entertainment professionals in New York City, a pulled muscle need not lead to bankruptcy.

Since 1996, the clinic has treated several thousand patients free of charge, "from kids in Broadway shows to retired performers in their 80s," says founder Dr. Barry Kohn, a specialist in allergies and immunology. This year, with eleven volunteer physicians on staff, Kohn expects a doctor will usually be in residence several hours a day, four or five days a week. The clinic typically treats between ten and fifteen patients a day and is available to any member of the performing arts.

Volunteer Physicians for the Arts is set up to provide one-time treatment for simple ailments like bronchitis, a sinus infection, or a rash. In addition, patients can make appointments to see specialists in such fields as allergy, dermatology, gastroenterology, gynecology, immunology, liver disease, lung disease, and podiatry. Should patients require consultation in a specialty not represented at the clinic, they are referred to specialists at two large Manhattan hospitals for a first-time fee of $40. "We're not meant to be anybody's permanent doctor," says Kohn. "But we can provide the initial triage and evaluation and, where needed, try to plug people into an ongoing health system."

In addition, the clinic provides free flu shots, cholesterol blood levels, electrocardiograms, Pap smears, and cervical cultures.

When he retired from private practice in 1995, Kohn, 53, decided to become a volunteer doctor. Because of a long interest in theater, he chose to offer his services to performing artists, in part in response to dwindling government support for the arts. Starting a free clinic proved a challenge. After several organizations declined requests to provide funding, The Actor's Fund of America offered a small grant enabling him to set up shop in a borrowed office, where he saw patients two days a week. Impressed by the fledgling clinic's success, the Actor's Fund provided a permanent office in its West Side headquarters in 1997. A hefty grant last year from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has gone toward running the clinic and paying a full-time office manager.

Buoyed by the success of his New York venture, Kohn plans to launch a Los Angeles branch this spring. "It will be just me at first, and I'll be dividing my time between Los Angeles and New York," he says. "But we hope eventually to build a West Coast community similar to what we have in New York."