CHCC, CORE host fourth mobile clinic

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the Community Outreach Recovery Efforts held yet another successful mobile clinic this past weekend, this time at the Carolinian Utt in Garapan.

The mobile clinic, which lasted from 1pm to 5pm, provided free medical services to more than 30 people.

“We’re doing home visits and bringing the clinic into the villages [for people] to get flu vaccines and other immunization vaccines that are required. We have AmeriCares working with us and facilitating our immunizations and medical outreach,” said Warren Villagomez, CHCC hospital emergency and preparedness program director.

An AmeriCares doctor takes a look at a patient’s feet during the mobile clinic at the Carolinian Utt on Saturday. (Jayson Camacho)

The first mobile clinic was held in Tanapag, followed by another in Chalan Kanoa, and the third one in Koblerville. So far the mobile outreach has benefited hundreds.

According to Villagomez, the vaccines for the general population are not yet in. CHCC is administering what they currently have but there isn’t much for the whole population, Villagomez said, so they are targeting those who need it most first and emergency responders.

“We are right now in Tier 1 mode [first responders and those needing medical attention right away] and then we will move on to the rest of the community,” he said.

About 80 percent of first responders have already been immunized.

As for the general community, Villagomez said there isn’t any set number yet but they have already immunized hundreds.

During mobile clinics, patients are given medical help such as wound dressings, body checks, blood pressure check, and sugar level check, among others.

CORE coordinator Mami Ikeda said that they have done home visits as well.

“We go out and do home visits, providing supplies. At the same time we have volunteer nurses going out to different places near the mobile clinic and giving medical attention to those who can’t come,” Ikeda said. “They get flu shots if necessary and fix all the dressings if they have wounds. We have a team of doctors and nurses today from AmeriCare, providing care in home visits as well as the mobile clinic.”

CORE has about 10 people under the Medical Reserve Corps, which helps the hospital when it reaches out to the community.

AmeriCares emergency response manager Kate Dischino said that they have three registered nurses, one doctor, a physician assistant, and a nurse practitioner during the mobile clinic.

Dischino noted that other AmeriCares members are doing home visits.

“We were requested through the Commonwealth Health Center to help. So we were helping in addressing the increased volume at the hospital and helping treat people to take the workload off. We also participate in meetings with the Emergency Operation Center including the government and Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Dischino said.

AmeriCares is an emergency response and global health organization. Dischino said that they serve over 90 countries and that they are on island to respond to typhoon survivors and provide care. They will be leaving by mid-October.