Health Screening, Falls Church, VA
The Falls Church Sai Center held its 2nd annual Health Screening Camp on Saturday July 21st, 2018, at the Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church in Woodbridge, VA. The camp, organized in partnership with the church, served 40 patients primarily from the Hispanic community living in the area. Since more than half of the patients did not speak English fluently, volunteer Spanish translators were on hand to assist.
The health screening team consisted of 12 medical volunteers (including a dentist, a pediatrician, a plastic surgeon and 4 medical students from the University of Virginia). The medical team was ably and enthusiastically assisted by 25 non-medical volunteers, including 15 volunteers from the church. Free health screening services were provided in the areas of primary care, blood lab work and dental care. Patient education on a variety of topics including health insurance was also made available. Patients with medical needs that were beyond the scope of the camp were referred to low-cost local health clinics. Patients also received home-made snacks lovingly prepared by the volunteers and free haircuts from the church volunteers.
One 20-year-old girl was shocked to learn she had very high blood sugar level. The triage volunteers very patiently repeated the test and, in the presence of physicians, confirmed the results. The patient and her family expressed their deepest gratitude to the team for detecting this health issue early and for referring her to the county clinic. Another patient expressed great satisfaction with how the dentist took time to answer all his questions at length, helping him better understand his health issues.
The pastor of the church, Mr. Federico Revollo, was deeply moved by the professionalism and the very loving care provided by the doctors and volunteers of the Sathya Sai Organization. He was also impressed by the principle of “Love All Serve All” practiced by the Sai Organization. The Health Director of the Adventist Church, Ms. Marvia Urbana, expressed her joy in working with the Falls Church Sai Center. She shared that she looked forward to this event, especially the multi-ethnic food (Spanish, Indian and American) prepared and served by the volunteers!