Free health screenings

Last Saturday I volunteered, along with the rest of my medical interpreting class, at a community health event at Bethany Community Center, which is in the middle of one of the large hispanic centers of Kansas City. At the event, free medical screenings were offered to check for glucose, cholesterol, skin cancer, and prostate cancer among other things. Our job was to be involved wherever we saw a need, but mainly to work as interpreters between the nurses/doctors volunteering and the non-english speaking patients. It was an eye opening experience.

The event was set to start at 10am, but by 9am there was already a line outside of 30+ people, and it grew until the doors were opened at 10am. Almost 100% of the people that attended were hispanic or latino, the majority brought their whole families (children, babies, uncles, grandparents) and a large percentage were probably not legal residents. During those 4 hours I carried food bags, took care of an information booth, interpreted, pointed people to where they needed to go, and spent time talking with some of the organizers. One lady from Mexico wanted to sign up for the free mammogram that could be done in a clinic around the area. However, she couldn't wait the 2 weeks that it would take because in one week she was going back to Mexico. An organizer explained to me that for many of those people, that day was going to provide the only contact with a doctor they would have for the whole year. Our teacher later told us that one of the nurses checking glucose levels came across 3 out-of-control diabetes cases in under 30mins.

The screenings offered that day were a kind of basic need no one should be deprived of. In some cases, such as for people who had cancer or diabetes and did not know about it, the results of the check-ups were a matter of life and death. Who of us would stand in line for 2 hours just to know our blood pressures or glucose levels? The people that came that day were that desperate, that much in need. Most even ignored the free bags of groceries that were being given out - they just wanted to speak with a doctor.

The bible mentions that we as Christians should be kind and show hospitality towards resident aliens and visitors. However, as far as I know, it doesn't mention illegal aliens. This is an issue that my family now confronts every day, and the only thing we can do is to help everyone that comes through the church doors as much as we can without breaking the law ourselves.