Care Collective will offer residents free health services this weekend

MARTINSVILLE – The fourth annual Martinsville Community Care Collaborative on Saturday, Nov. 3, will provide health services and community resources for people in need.

Last year, more than 300 people were served by more than 200 volunteers, including dozens of doctors, dentists, medical students, nurses, nursing students and others.

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine heads the event, which will be at First United Methodist Church of Martinsville’s Uptown Ministry Center at 145 East Main St., behind Rania’s Restaurant, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event also involves various Martinsville-Henry County churches, agencies and organizations as well as other higher education institutions.

In an email, Dr. Kathy Bogacz -- assistant professor of internal medicine, department of internal medicine, Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), and chief medical officer for Martinsville Community Care Collaborative – provided details about who will be taking part and what services will be provided:

LUCOM will have 13 faculty (physicians), including one of its senior associate deans; five staff’; one additional faculty from the Liberty University School of Health Sciences, Public Health; and 110 medical students.

Bogacz wrote: “Fun fact here: We have to limit this number. When we opened the sign-up for this event, it filled all 100 spots in 26 minutes! We had over 40 on the waiting list. Our students have true servants’ hearts and were literally quite disappointed when they were not in the first 100 signed up. Some students are coming purely to volunteer to help patients around the clinic space, since they are unable to participate in the medical clinic part.”

“We have students from first, second and third year of medical school participating,” Bogacz wrote.

The 100 LUCOM students will be paired and provide medical care to people coming to the event. Faculty clinicians will supervise the LUCOM students.

Bogacz wrote that aspects of care include:

--“General medical care, including diagnosis and treatment for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and various other general medical issues. We have rudimentary labs (blood sugar and urine tests), an ECG machine and some ultrasound machines available.”

--“Osteopathic evaluation and treatments will be done for many patients with various aches and pains.

--“Behavioral health care: A psychologist and two of our students will provide some real-time counseling as needed. Piedmont [Community] Services is also going to be involved the day of the event and afterwards for follow-up care for patients who need it.

--“Eye care: Ophthalmology as well as optometry is included. Optometrists are local….

--“We also will have reading glasses to distribute in the medical clinic.

--“The staff and additional person from the School of Health Sciences, Public Health, will be providing logistical support for the day as many things are going on at once.”

Bogacz wrote that Averett University School of Nursing, Patrick Henry Community College and University of Lynchburg also are participating

As for Averett University, “Nancy Dameron, clinical coordinator/assistant professor of nursing education there, is heading up the volunteers and bringing 40 student nurses (BSN degree program),” Bogacz wrote. She added that seven faculty/staff (six instructors) from Averett are participating.

Twenty RN nursing students and one faculty/staff from PHCC are participating.

All the nursing students will participate in one of several areas: “Patient intake – welcoming patients, taking their vital signs and finding out their main health concerns; patient education – providing education on diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking cessation, and nutrition; lab: They will be assisting with fingerstick blood draws for blood sugar levels and A1C levels (a test for diabetics) as well as urine tests for pregnancy and urinalysis; foot washing clinic; [or] patient navigation through the clinic.”

The University of Lynchburg will participate in the medical clinic, with 17 PA (physician assistant) students and four PA faculty.

Bogacz wrote: “Dental clinic – this is an amazing gathering: 11 dentists; eight dental hygienist students with one dental hygienist; four CDHC – three students and one graduate (PHCC program); two dental trucks with X-ray capability; services to be provided that day: Oral screenings, cleanings, fillings and extractions.”

She added: “ Walgreens is providing free flu shots that day. A Mammovan from UVa., Charlottesville, will be present and has already booked up the day with appointments for many local women in need of mammograms. Haircuts will be available. Foot washing and shoes along with prayer for patients will be available.”

“Community resources will be present to assist patients with many aspects of daily life. Follow-up appointments will be made for patients prior to their exit from the clinic. It is crucial that patients get connected to someone who will provide ongoing care for them after this day,” Bogacz wrote.

She anticipates that “300-500 patients” will be served through this project.

Why is LUCOM doing this and how does it benefit the university, its students and this community?

Bogacz wrote: “It’s about quality of care for the patient; it’s about seeing lives impacted for the better, and the overall health of the Martinsville community improved. We come in order to support the agencies and organizations who are already working in Martinsville. We seek to be a bridge for connecting the clients/patients with the care they need in their area going forward.”

She added: “ Some of our students, having participated in the is event, will come to know the Martinsville and Henry County area. Some may even return to do a residency in Danville (we have six LUCOM graduates training there now!) [The doctors] may then settle in the area and practice medicine, which will improve the statistics for patient-doctor ratios. That is one of our long-term goals.”

Bogacz wrote: “We provide a kind of ‘surge’ capacity for caring for many patients in one setting with a multi-faceted approach. Because the dental care is so robust that day, many patients who have been waiting for long periods of time for dental care can receive that care on Nov. 3 and lighten the load for those providing dental care in the area.”

She added the event provides a rich educational experience for LUCOM students as well as the nursing and physician assistant students participating.

“It also benefits the university as a whole in accomplishing its mission of educating compassionate and competent students,” Bogacz wrote. “It’s an opportunity for our students to serve, which grows them in both character and skill. We want to send forth doctors with exemplary compassion and servant leadership. But the focus for our students and our faculty/staff isn’t necessarily on how LUCOM or LU benefits from this event.”

She added that 75 members of the Martinsville/Henry County community are volunteering in many capacities, including providing lunches for the clients and food for the all-day volunteers.

The agencies from this community that are involved that she knows of are: Southern Area Agency on Aging, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge, Veteran’s Association. United Way, WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program, Martinsville Adult Education Program, Piedmont Community Services, Disability Rights and Resource Center, Grace Network, Salvation Army, Martinsville-Henry County Coalition for Health and Wellness, YMCA, Community Dream Center, Hope Center, Pregnancy Care Center, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Southside Survivor Response Center, Leslie Houston/Hair Stylist for Reflections Salon-Martinsville, Piedmont Autism Action Group and the Department of Social Services.

“…If one life is impacted, the event has been a success,” Bogacz wrote. “All the hours of planning and preparation are worth it if even one person walks away having experienced the love of Jesus and a better quality of life. As a Christian university, that is the underlying foundational goal of all we do.”

Linda Adams, who helps with publicity for the event, wrote in an email: “Medicaid representatives will definitely be there to help our friends and neighbors.”

“All services are free,” Adams wrote. “This event is for Martinsville, Henry and Patrick County residents but no one will be turned away. Pre-registration is not required for the event.”

Free lunch will be provided for everyone attending, she added.

Adams wrote that the Martinsville Community Foundation again has provided a grant to help pay the cost of the event.

She added that area churches and groups participating in the event include Community Fellowship, First United Methodist Church of Martinsville, Smart Beginnings, West Piedmont Health District, Health Connect, among others.

In a previous interview, Adams said, “This is the most wonderful event.”

She told of one woman who attended last year who had not had her teeth cleaned since the 1970s. Also, a grandmother who wouldn’t smile because she had a broken tooth received dental services last year.

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