New wheels extend health clinic

The Care-A-Van enhances services for homeless on Oahu

The words on the side of the Waikiki Health Center's Care-A-Van say it all: "Reaching Out from the Heart of Waikiki."

A new $100,000 mobile clinic reaches out to homeless in parks, on beaches, under bridges and other places on Oahu.

"One of the first things homeless people give up is privacy," said Darlene Hein, Care-A-Van Program director. "There is nowhere they can go and shut a door. They can shut a door in the mobile van."

Private examinations and consultations are among services offered to the homeless from the custom-designed clinic on wheels.

The Care-A-Van Program operates another medically equipped van that can go to places the new clinic cannot get to, but it does not have all the amenities of the new unit, staff members said.

The federal government gave the Waikiki Health Center $100,000 for the mobile unit, and it was equipped with a $10,000 grant from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, acting on a Rotary Club of Honolulu recommendation.

The new mobile clinic made its "maiden voyage" even before a recent blessing by Kahu Curt Kekuna of Kawaiaha'o Church.

"Our patients loved it," said Valerie Foree, nurse practitioner. "I love it," she added. "It's an incredible opportunity to extend health care services beyond a clinical setting."

Foree is one of four nurse practitioners who staff the mobile unit. Others are Terri Zucchero, Joline Labbe and Pua Gandall-Yamamoto. An outreach worker and medical assistant also work on the vans.

The new unit allows for the first time women's health services such as Pap smears, pelvic exams, breast screening and instructions for self-exams, the nurses pointed out.

They also will screen patients for sexually transmitted diseases and give children physical exams and sports physicals to meet school requirements.

Homeless patients comprise a "vulnerable population," Zucchero said. "It's really important that confidentiality is there. That's been a great concern of patients, that they have privacy."

The mobile clinic has a private room for examinations, bathroom, storage area and refrigerator for medications. It is wheelchair accessible and has an awning for a patient waiting area.

"It can be set up under a tree like a caravan," Sheila Beckham, Waikiki Health Center executive director, noted at the blessing ceremony. "It is clean, comfortable and spacious."

The Care-A-Van Program's two vans make multiple runs weekly to homeless at about 30 Oahu sites. Besides health care, they provide social services, emergency food and clothing, counseling, help in applying for benefits, case management and referrals.

The program has taken outreach services to the homeless since 1987. A drop-in center at 1640 S. King St. also provides medical and social services six days a week to 80 to 100 clients a day.

Waikiki Health Center, at 277 Ohua Ave., has provided medical and social services for more than 40 years to patients regardless of ability to pay. The center assists people who are homeless, have low incomes and no insurance, or who experience language, cultural or other barriers in obtaining medical care.