DURHAM, N.C. — Durham Technical Community College is pioneering a mobile community health lab, which provides basic medical care to underserved populations.
The lab is run through community partnerships with other medical groups and agencies who identify areas of the community in need of services. Students in the medical program at Durham Tech, like Deb Vacca, work and learn in the lab.
“This is a community that needs us to go to them, and so it's very rewarding, and it's very humbling,” Vacca said.
The lab serves a dual purpose, bringing essential medical care to those who may not be able to access it and giving students the opportunity to get experience in a real-world environment.
“At orientation, the instructor mentioned this health van, which I had no idea,” Vacca said. “So she said, ‘Send me an email if you think you might be interested in going out on the van,’ and I'm pretty sure I sent that email before I even left orientation. I was like, ‘Yes, I had no idea something like this existed!’”
The mobile lab is capable of providing preventative care and basic health screenings like eye exams, sports physicals, blood pressure and EKGs. In the past three years the college says it has done 2,000 vision screenings and given out 1,400 prescription glasses.
“The well-roundedness of what this provides not only to those who can't afford the care, but then the students to learn and to be of service to the community in the community where they live is just phenomenal,” Vacca said.
The goal of the preventative care is to cut down on emergency room visits and 911 calls, alleviating both the cost and demand on our health care system. Their hope is to continue expanding mobile services in the future to include a dental lab as well.
“I just want to be of service,” Vacca said. “There's a need in the community, and I can do it.”