By Debra Wood, RN, contributor
Concerned by the number of immigrants, especially elderly people, with no insurance and limited access to preventive services and medical care, a nurse practitioner and several nursing colleagues came together to launch the Legacy of Care Health Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
“This is a nurse-run clinic, and we have to make a difference,” said Lolita Massengill, ARNP, MN, GNP-BC, founder, director and president of the clinic. “We are not just here to treat patients. We are here for prevention.”
The primary-care clinic is open one Saturday a month. Patients start lining up early for an opportunity to receive medical care.
More than 20 nurses volunteer, many from the Philippine Nurses Association of Northeast Florida. They take vital signs and instruct patients in self-management of their diseases and preventive care. Physicians, mostly members of the Philippine Medical Society of Florida, and nurse practitioners from the Gerontological Nurse Practitioners Council of the Florida Nurses Association District Two, examine and treat patients.
By doing so, Massengill and fellow volunteers hope to build a healthier community.
The clinic treats about 50 patients each month. Many have diabetes or hypertension. The clinic started in May 2006 and outgrew its original space in less than a year, moving in January 2007 to a larger borrowed facility.
Clinic nurses coordinate with the area’s safety-net agencies for specialist visits, laboratory and imaging services. Legacy of Care dispenses some medications at no cost.
Patients return monthly until their conditions are controlled and the patients understand about how to manage their diseases. The focus is on taking care of one’s health and screening to find problems early, when they are more easily treated.
“It comes with being a nurse practitioner, where you want health promotion,” said Massengill, who also founded the Philippine Nurses Association of Northeast Florida.
The clinic provides free health care to all uninsured adults, not just immigrants. About 20 percent of Jacksonville residents lack health insurance.
A large percentage of clinic patients originally came from the Philippines. They hear about the clinic from their friends and appreciate that many of the providers speak their language. The clinic also has volunteer interpreters to help communicate with Spanish-speaking patients.
“Our patients are diverse,” said Cirila Floresca, RN, clinic administrator. “We help those who are in need.”
Floresca works full time for an insurer. Volunteering at the clinic provides her an opportunity to use her clinical and patient-education skills.
“It’s a rewarding feeling,” Floresca said. “People are appreciative.”
Many patients, who later obtain a job and health insurance, return to volunteer, either to work in the clinic, raise money or plan volunteer-recognition events.
“It’s very rewarding,” Massengill says. “As the clinic becomes more prestigious, we will get more donations and volunteers.”
Massengill tries to create a fun environment in which to volunteer to attract more nurses.
“They want to be part of it,” Massengill said. “It’s like a fiesta. There are so many people here, and they like it. People hear about it and they want to come.”
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