Health clinic keeps New Orleans music alive

Bethany Bultman is passionate in her quest to preserve the musical culture which helps define this city's richness. "Every time you go to iTunes and download Fats Domino or Irma Thomas or Allen Toussaint, they have given their heart and soul. And we deserve to give something back to everyone who contributes to that music," she said.

Eleven years ago, Bethany and her husband, Johann Bultman, decided the best way to keep the music alive was to keep the musicians healthy. "The reason we chose to target musicians in New Orleans is because they represent a pure American cultural form, jazz music," said Johann. "Nothing else in America has its roots and origins here in such a pure, world-renowned, world-sought-after format and we didn't want to see the music die on our watch."

And so was born the non-profit New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, which provides free or low-cost medical care to the many musical artists here who attract loyal fans from around the globe, but who, in most cases, earn such meager wages that they can't even afford basic health care, let alone expensive medical insurance.
http://bethsownblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/health-clinic-keeps-new-orleans-music.html