THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9605310198
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER BENNETT, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 75 lines
For two years, the Norfolk Baptist Association has been seeking to save the soul and heal the body through its Mobile Medical Ministry.
This effort by the association, an alliance comprising 75 Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake churches, involves a cream-colored, eight-passenger trailer with blue trim that was converted into a traveling health center. Within the past two years, more than 330 people have received free medical attention in the unit. The association, which has headquarters in Virginia Beach, estimates that there are 40,000 people in Hampton Roads who don't have access to adequate medical care.
``We are called upon to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters,'' said Kimberley S. Jessie, director of church and community ministries.
Purchased and renovated with $20,000 from the Virginia Baptist General Board in Richmond, the vehicle contains many things a regular doctor's office has - a blood pressure cuff, a box of rubber gloves, a stethoscope. Here, largely unemployed and under-employed people who don't qualify for Medicaid or private health insurance can see the doctor in their neighborhoods. Churches and other groups sponsor the van on its visits.
At the same time, in the same place, patients also may find spiritual renewal. Volunteer counselors witness to patients before they leave. ``It is our belief that people are more willing to hear the `good news' when they are physically able to do so,'' reads an association manual.
On another hand, this project allows health professionals to work in the name of the Lord, Jessie added. The highly paid professionals volunteer both their time and resources when they participate.
``It's an opportunity to unabashedly demonstrate Christian love in a caring, practical way,'' said Dr. Dan Crabtree, medical director for Sentara Health Care Center and a member of Kings Grant Baptist Church.
Services are limited to evaluation of acute and minor medical conditions. While equipped for blood pressure screening, immunizations and general, school or sports physicals, doctors mainly see colds and flus, said Jessie. Uninsured people with ailments such as high blood pressure, emphysema and heart disease also have appeared for treatment. Many simply cannot afford the costs associated with the numerous visits required for such long-term problems. Crabtree agreed.
He added that doctors may suggest lifestyle changes to better manage certain conditions. Although no surgical procedures occur on board, all patients enter for individual reasons.
One was the coach of a Little League baseball team, Jessie said. On the way to their first game, he stopped at the medical clinic and lined up his team for physicals.
In a more serious event, Jessie related the story of a woman who had no insurance, but suffered from black-outs and dizzy spells. In the unit, she was diagnosed with advanced-stage hardening of the arteries. The volunteer physician who saw her called a colleague. In turn, a cardiologist agreed to treat the woman on a sliding scale fee basis.
In winter, Volunteers of America and various Virginia Beach churches that act as homeless shelters, sponsor the medical unit so that the homeless get free check-ups on site.
Member churches of the association utilize the van for free; others pay a daily fee. Ideally, it will hit the road three or four times a month, Jessie said. However, its next appointment is not until August.
All resources, human and material, are donated. Groups requesting the van must secure their own staff of volunteers. The association can help with that.
The van is registered with the state as a free medical clinic, and a Health Department nurse immunizes children. Doctors are fully insured by the state. Physicians dispense sample medications. If appropriate, they write prescriptions. For people with limited finances, some churches help defray prescription costs with cash or discount arrangements with pharmacies. Services are confidential.
Organizers say it is difficult to realize the overall impact of the ministry, but almost two dozen people are known to have become Christians through the medical van, Jessie said. The association's next venture is a $60,000 mobile dental van. For information, call 463-6525. by CNB