by Tara Beverly

Jack Brose, D.O., dean of OU-COM, hit the road with Community Service Programs’ Mobile Health Van during the fall quarter. On Sept. 14 and 28, Brose was part of the team, along with Janice Smith, Healthy Adult Project coordinator, and Anne Pearch, community health nurse coordinator, that provided free breast and cervical cancer screenings at the Senior Center in New Lexington, Perry County, and at Hocking Valley Community Hospital, Hocking County.

These were Brose’s first times out with the Mobile Health Van, and he says he plans to go out again and regularly. Brose says that one has to go out with CSP into community into in order to truly appreciate the tremendous service they’re providing.

The services provided by CSP, says Brose, himself a family practice physician, “have been lifesaving in a number of instances.”

“There were folks whom I was very pleased had come in to see us; they really needed to see a physician, and in many cases, I don’t think would have if the van had not been there,” says Brose. “We saw real issues; every patient we saw needed follow-up care or was concerned about something in particular, which was very interesting from a medical standpoint. It wasn’t just a matter of whipping through and doing a bunch of quick screening tests.”

They saw about 12 patients every three hours. All of the women they saw were over the age of 50, most were over 60 and the oldest was 84.

The unit is set up like a doctor’s small office. There is a waiting room in which patients fill out forms appropriate to the exams they are to receive. One at a time they are brought back to the exam room, where a doctor or nurse — in this case Brose — performed examinations and discussed the results with them. Afterward CSP nurses contacted patients for follow–up care and forwarded copies of the examination findings to their regular physicians, if they have them.

“The dedication of this group is just remarkable,” says Brose. “They’re not in it for the money. You can tell that they really care for the people of Southeastern Ohio.”

“That’s what struck me. It was a service mission — not just their jobs.”

“When they deal with the patients they are so warm and friendly. Some patients were a bit nervous initially, yet the way that Ann and Janice related to them was so warm and nurturing. Patients responded so well to it. Some of them wanted to send us things.”

Brose says it surprised him as to how much time it takes to get to the places where clinics are held. The trip to New Lexington took 1-1/2 hours. Many of the communities served by CSP are farther away and require overnight stays, he says. And CSP personnel also go out on weekends.

“I am impressed with the dedication of the nurses and other personnel who run these programs,” he says.

“It was nice to work with Dr. Brose again,” said Smith. “He worked very well with the patients. He seemed to have a good rapport with them, even though he had never seen them before. He made the patients we saw feel very comfortable. I look forward to working with him in the future.

“I don’t think the women we saw would get these types of examinations done without the Mobile Health Van. Most of the women we see are trying to put food on the table. For them, these examinations may be put off or never done at all, which can be fatal.”

Getting out of the office, says Brose was gratifying.

“It’s really nice as a dean of a medical school to be able to get out and talk with people in the community and to find out what their impressions of our medical school are. It’s wonderful to see and hear how important these services are to them.

“I frequently meet with legislators and have to defend why we should get state money to keep our vans going. It gives me a firsthand perspective if I’ve been out on the vans providing these services as to why they are so crucial to the communities of Southeastern Ohio.

“It’s important to support our community programs. Working directly with CSP gives me the opportunity to perform a community service and keep my clinical skills up. It is a wonderful experience.”