Victim of Provincetown police car accident recuperating at Seashore Point

Jim Parker, the 61-year old pedestrian who was struck by a police vehicle in front of the police station on Dec. 9, got his wish: he is rehabbing comfortably at Seashore Point following surgery for the fractured knee he suffered in the accident.

“I’m doing okay,” Parker said from his room at the Alden Street complex. “I’m doing physical therapy every day and the knee feels good.”

While at Cape Cod Hospital Parker was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to rehab at Seashore Point because they do not accept Blue Cross Blue Shield for in-patient rehabilitation. He did not want to be cut off from his friends and well-wishers during the long recovery. He credits his case managers at the hospital and at Blue Cross, plus his attorney Chris Snow, for making it happen.

“Someone was pulling some strings to get me here, for which I’m grateful,” he said.

Parker arrived at Seashore Point two days before Christmas and doesn’t know how long he’ll be here. He’s hoping just another couple of weeks. “I’m not complaining,” he commented. “I can’t put weight on it yet, not for another couple of months.”

“It’s very nice,” he said of Seashore Point. “I know six or eight people who work here, and the staff is good. They’re all helpful.” Most importantly, lots of his friends come to visit, many with their dogs.

“It’s better than what I cook,” he said, when asked how the food is. “If God had meant me to cook, she wouldn’t have invented the microwave.”

“It was a little bit of work on our side and his insurer’s side,” said attorney Snow. “It took a lot of maneuvering and negotiation. Given the high profile of the case it would be in their best interest.” Snow said the lesson here is to be persistent. “If you’re a squeaky wheel, they’ll apply the oil.”

Kevin Comick, executive director of Seashore Point, said the residential community and wellness center has a contract with Blue Cross for outpatient rehab, but not in-patient. The certification process to obtain a contract for in-patient rehab costs $10,000, he said. “It’s on our radar to do that this year.”

Many people in town, including town employees, have Blue Cross Blue Shield for their health insurance.

“If someone wants to come here, we work with Blue Cross,” Comick said. “We want to be able to take care of the people out here and we do as much as we can. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes no.” He said it is the same with other insurance programs that Seashore Point doesn’t have contracts with. “Our business office is good at doing it.”