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Miller School Student DOCS Bring Compassionate Care to Little Haiti with Fifteenth Annual Health Fair

10/13/2009

Two weeks before this year’s Little Haiti Health Fair, project manager and Miller School medical student Tameka Joseph and two classmates took to the airwaves of local Haitian radio to spread the word about the annual health fair and invite listeners to pre-register. Later the trio and other students would hit the streets of Little Haiti to encourage residents to attend the 15th Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service (DOCS) Little Haiti Health Fair and receive the free health screenings that have helped save many lives.

On Saturday, it was evident their efforts paid off.  At 10 a.m. when the gates of the Center for Haitian Studies opened, dozens of men, women and children streamed in, eager to be seen by Miller School faculty and other volunteer physicians, and dozens of medical students who provide a wide range of services while gaining valuable patient contact experience.

At the Center, located on Northeast Second Avenue, every space was made useful: large areas for registration and check-out, rooms for height, weight and blood pressure screening, blood testing, Pap smears, breast exams, male exams, dermatologic screening and several other medical services. Students dressed in gray DOCS T-shirts manned the stations and kept an orderly flow.

“I am very passionate about providing care to the communities that are underserved and keeping up this worthwhile University of Miami tradition,” said Joseph, a second-year medical student of Haitian descent. “For so many people this is the one time each year that they get the screenings that should be routine but for many reasons they don’t have access to these services.” Joseph and fourth-year student Eileen Bernal, executive director of DOCS, spent most of their time making sure the event ran smoothly.

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., a stalwart supporter of DOCS and its humanitarian mission, also attended the health fair, greeting patients and spending time with students and faculty.

By many accounts, the health fair – one of a series DOCS provides in several communities – was its usual success, made even more easily accessible as a result of the pre-registration introduced this year to accommodate the 260 patients.

“It’s a great thing they are doing for our community,” said Jean R. Louis, a first-time visitor to the health fair who received an eye exam and other services. “So many people here need help and have nowhere else to go. The students are treating us very well and I am glad the University of Miami does this every year.”

Molleine Elmeus was also going through the four stations of the eye exam section. She read letters from a chart in a visual acuity test, then saw first-year students Jacob Erickson and Raye Zhu and voluntary assistant professor of ophthalmology Mark Werner, M.D., for an intraocular pressure exam. “For people who don’t have insurance this is a blessing,” Elmeus said at the end of the exam.

For the students, especially first-year students like Zhu and Erickson who are new to DOCS, the experience brings to life many aspects of their medical education that incorporate the Miller School’s renowned community service commitment to communities in need.

“Each year I am struck by the numbers of patients with uncontrolled chronic diseases and the poor access to medical services,” said Alex J. Mechaber, M.D., associate dean for undergraduate medical education, who volunteered at the health fair. “But providing these screenings is a key part of our mission. Our students take a lot of time to organize a fair of this magnitude and offer services that are critical. I am proud to be a part of it.”