Summer Health Events Help Deliver Health Care
The Mobile Health Fairs Offer Mobile Health Clinics In Summer
© Jon Pike
Sep 30, 2009
Since the 1960's Presbyterian Congregations have been ministering to those without adequate health
care inthe United States. One such operation is the Mobile Health Fair. It started out as a group of medical\ professionals working out of a station wagon The fair is largely the project of one synod that serves 811 congregations in Ohio and Michigan. The project has a budget of $50,000 and is roun out of the Synod of the Covenant in Maumee, Ohio.
Mission Of The Mobile Health Fair
According to the website of the Mobile Health Fair, tthis barnstorming medical tour represents the following values:
- Through the ministry of the Mobile Health Fair (MHF), people who do not have access to, or resources for, medical care receive screenings, education and referrals as needed.
- The impact on individuals, families and communities is immeasurable and unquestionable.
- Health Fairs serve as a vehicle for community improvement.
- Health fairs are free to participants.
- Local presbyteries, churches and mission groups sponsor health fairs in partnership with the Synod of the Covenant.
However, the money to run the traveling medical service is precarious. The $50,000 budget has to be stretched to include liability, medical supplies, team member salaries, and travel expenses. In these recessionary times, some congregations have had to cut back on their contributions to the program.
Reflections On The Health Fair And Health Care
The Mobil Health Fair travels to all kinds of communities, from neighborhoods to rural areas. They held 52 health fair events throughout Michigan and Ohio.this last summer. From small towns in Ohio, to Detroit. They provide health educational materials and assist physicians with tests. Writing for Campus Progress, John Chen, a sophomore at Vanderbilt who assisted the Mobile Health Fair. Chen says that a lot of the people who came to th events and got referrals were many of the 46 million who go without health insurance.According to Chen,
"I count myself among the lucky to have had this experience. Mobile Health Fair had introduced me to a sobering reality of the uninsured that I hadn’t encountered before. It can be one thing to hear about underprivileged citizens and healthcare woes on the news, but it’s entirely different to encounter these people on a daily basis for two and a half months."
Activities like the Health Fair can help bring some of those who need care to the point of receiving it. But it remains to be seen if it will be able to continue its mission.
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