by Jane Karr
Arriving at eight o'clock to the 2009 Quincy Community Health Fair, the entrance and cafeteria of North Quincy High School were already set up with tables for stations and informational banners showing the many efforts of Tzu Chi around the world. The event was organized by a partnership of Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation Boston Service Center and Quincy Asian Resources Inc. with participation from many organizations including the American Chinese Medical Center, Boston Medical Center Health Net Plan (an insurance provider), Joslin Diabetes Center, MA Dept of Public Health TB division, Manet, National Kidney Foundation, Quincy Asian Resources, Quincy Health Department, Quincy Medical Center (QMC), Quincy Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, and South Cove Community Health Center.
All volunteers had their temperature checked and their hands stamped on their way into the clinic as a way to screen for those with potential swine flu cases and keep track of who had been checked. Everyone gathered for a welcome meeting to make sure everyone was wearing their “Tzu Chi face cream” a.k.a. their big smiles and to make sure everyone knew the plan for the day.
Everyone divided into groups for each station with a team leader who assigned tasks and explained how they would be assisting the patients that arrived. There were stations that covered everything: blood pressure, height and weight, glucose screening, TB tests, blood work, urine testing, vision care, dental care, internal medicine, and Chinese medicine. There were also tables set up with information on preventative medicine and information on the different organizations involved in the clinic. There was also a small lecture area set up where speakers gave talks about subjects from diabetes to H1N1 to stress management to dental care.
As patients arrived they were checked in at registration and then guided through the stations in the clinic. I was able to shadow several patients through their experiences. One couple from Bedford, MA came to the free clinic after seeing it advertised in the New York Times. Tanu Agrawal, wife of Gopal Ramanathan, brought her husband to the clinic to be tested since his sister is a kidney patient on dialysis. They were taken to the urine testing and blood work stations and then had a consult with one of the doctors in internal medicine to go over the preliminary results of his tests.
In speaking with Mr. Ramanathan after he checked out of the clinic he said that he was impressed by the participation of the volunteers and the many organizations that pulled together for the event. He had “only good things to say” about the free clinic. His only suggestion was that one person should be assigned to each patient to guide them through the different stations because he was confused a few times where to go after finishing at a station. He also mentioned that the language barrier (he did not speak Mandarin or Cantonese) was not an issue since everything was so visual. Both he and his wife left with smiles on their faces and brochures on Tzu Chi and the National Kidney Foundation in their hands.
Another patient I shadowed was Nixie Raymond who came to the clinic after seeing an advertisement for the National Kidney Foundation’s kidney screening and visited their website. She also went through the process of getting her blood pressure, height and weight, urine testing and blood work done. She had a consult with a doctor from internal medicine who referred her to the Chinese medicine station where she received a light shiatsu massage and consulted with a doctor familiar in Eastern medicine. Nixie was impressed by the efficiency of the clinic. She said it was well-run, the volunteers and doctors were very helpful and knowledgeable. The only thing she could criticize was that when she came into the building she had a difficult time finding the clinic. She recommended better signage to guide the patients to the right area of the school.
I was also able to interview one of the coordinators of the event, John Brothers, who is the executive director at Quincy Asian Resources in Quincy, MA. QARI mostly serves the Asian immigrant population in the area through informational services, translation, English classes, and youth leadership programs. Their organization teamed up with Tzu Chi’s free clinic last year and wanted to continue their efforts. Mr. Brothers was disappointed that the weather was not the best which he feared kept people in their homes instead of visiting the clinic, but he was happy with the organization of the event. He only wished that we could plan these events on other days but Saturdays since he believes a lot of the people who need care in the area are immigrants who work Saturdays. He wants to offer events such as free clinics when people are able to attend. He plans to review everything from the free clinic this year to make improvements on next year’s clinic.
A couple elderly ladies when making their way over to the checkout also mentioned to me that they “thought the clinic was remarkable.”
I have to say the part I most enjoyed about the event was watching the patients in dental care learning how to properly brush their teeth and floss. They were all smiles and so excited to learn proper dental hygiene and it was great to see them as excited as they were practicing brushing their teeth with the tooth brushes provided.
I believe the day was a great success regardless of the poor weather because every patient who came was served in a timely manner with respect and care, and everyone volunteering felt they had done something good that day. One volunteer, Jeffrey Lu, commented that the free clinic was “physically and mentally challenging, but a rewarding and enlightening experience.”
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