Medical mission: Clinic on wheels helps 12,000 needy Arizonans yearly

Published: 2004-04-13

PHOENIX (CNS) -- Cramped in a small makeshift examining room adorned with pale pink wallpaper, Minerva Lopez sits on the edge of a paper-draped table, legs dangling, inhaling deeply as a doctor listens closely to each breath. Suspecting Lopez's cough may be the onset of asthma or tuberculosis, the doctor refers her to a specialist. Her 3-year-old daughter, Sara, sits patiently in the corner sucking on a lollipop. In the hallway, another patient, who is a diabetic and a cocaine addict, is treated for infected leg burns suffered after falling asleep next to a heater. Down the hall, a Spanish translator loudly informs a patient who is hard of hearing that her prescription calls for only half a pill each day. A nurse retrieves medications, while doctors consult about diagnoses in the hallway. It's all in a day's work for Mission of Mercy's volunteer team of doctors, nurses, and medical students who see 250 to 300 patients a week at clinics in Phoenix and surrounding suburbs. While minimal privacy is one of the drawbacks, the Catholic-founded medical clinic on wheels provides free health care to the area's unemployed, uninsured and marginalized working poor -- citizens and noncitizens alike.

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