This weekend, a rather large group of medical students of all years made a trip south to Robstown for a health fair. This being my third trip to the area, I was impressed with how much it has grown over the two and a half years. I still remember the first trip we made: we set up a few tables in a small church associated with one of the many colonias, and when the “patients” did not come to us, Mr. Lopez took us to see the colonia, getting a firsthand look at the shocking and unfathomable living conditions. At that time, we only had students eager to help, physicians willing to guide us and site in need of health care access (as well as much more). This was what we hoped would be the beginning of a new commitment that would continue to grow...
And grow it did! As we embarked for Robstown on Saturday afternoon, thirteen students and one eager pre-med undergrad from Baylor piled into three vans for the trek south. Arriving Saturday evening, we checked in our hotel and then met Dr. Smith and family at a local Vietnamese restaurant. There we had a chance to continue the fellowship and catch up with Dr Smith. After dinner, we returned to the hotel to get a restful night for a big Sunday.
The next morning, we packed the vans back up and headed off to a nearby church of which we would set up the health fair in the associated gym where we were joined by Dr Berggren and Jeannie who drove up from Harlingen. At this fair, we offered blood pressure and glucose screenings as well as a general history and physical (as we had the first time), but there was also many more outlets to offer the patients: Christus Spohn was present to allow access to a health care community if needed; AmeriGroup and sCHIP set up for insurance information; Humana came to offer free glucometers and additional information; flu and pneumococcal vaccines were offered to those who needed them; and rapid HIV screening per the new CDC protocol to screen everyone over 13 years old as well as additional testing for high risk individuals. We split into pairs, often a first-year with someone older, and began seeing patients of all ages, ranging from the second to ninth decades.
Four masses and over sixty people later (much more than our initial 20ish patients during the first trip!), we looked back on the day. There was a steady flow of people throughout the day, discussing everything from general health questions to coordinating soon follow-up. A couple of students even had the opportunity to go on home visits with Dr Campos, in order to bring medical care to those unable to come to the fair. Needless to say, each trip adds added access for care and education as well as opportunities for more students to learn and participate! I can only imagine what more will be added in the trips to come both to Robstown and Laredo! Keep up the good work and great vision!
Anne Cioletti, MSIV
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