Al's Outreach Outtakes

Many of you know that the first Friday of every (most) months we host an emergency dental van. This van is provided by Medical Teams International and is staffed by dentists and assistants who graciously volunteer their time to help those who desperately need emergency dental care. Limited to providing extractions and fillings only, we typically help 8—10 people each month. In order to receive this assistance patients must be below certain income levels and not have any private dental insurance. The service is free to those who qualify. I get the opportunity to speak with most who come and hear of the significant pain that many of them are in; pain that often times has gone on for months. The impact this service has on the quality of life of those helped is HUGE! We are able to offer this ministry thanks to the generosity of several of our parishioners. Thank you all for your support!
 
Having done this for over 18 months now, and seeing the impact it is having helped me realize the need to see what else we might be able to do; what other services might we be able to provide with the help of others in the community. Our own Health Ministry team provides some health screening including blood pressure. Most recently I began developing a relationship with the Virginia Garcia Clinic. Through them, starting in August, we will be adding several key services including:

• Having a representative at Holy Trinity to help sign people up for the Oregon Health Plan which provides health coverage for low income Oregonians.

• Hosting a mobile mammography van which is provided by Tuality Healthcare. Scheduled through Virginia Garcia, this van provides a critical service to all women.

• Vision, glaucoma and blood glucose testing provided by the Lions Club. This service will be offered every quarter with the first screening on September 6th. These services are available to everyone. Those who are in need of additional referral services will be assisted based on various qualifications. 

While this set of services is far from complete, these are all steps in the right direction. If you are a health provider, or have experience with these type of services and would like to help please contact Debbie Gray with our Health Ministry or you can email or call (503-641-1842) me. We would love to hear from you. If you, or someone you know is in need of these services, feel free to contact me.