Connect EACH to Care
Patrick has survived the past seven years, seven years during which he has battled a rare cancer of the bloodstream. For the past four years, he has fought diabetes induced by chemotherapy. But in March, Patrick was confronted by a new challenge to overcome: the infamous Medicare Part D “donut hole.”
Because of the expense of chemotherapy drugs, Patrick has hit the [...]
When optometrist Dr. Steven Hill volunteers for Connect EACH to Care, he brings prescription glasses with him. Boxes of them. They sit on the shelf of the medical trailer as he examines a patient’s eyes. If the patient turns out to need glasses but can’t afford them, Dr. Steve goes to the boxes and finds a good [...]
Over his sandwich Thursday outside the dental RV, Tim, one of Connect EACH to Care’s volunteer dentists, mentions meeting a patient who had lost her upper front teeth. Because of embarrassment, she has spent years during which she has avoided leaving her home. But when the EACH trailers came to her Dearborn neighborhood, she came out [...]
Yvonne isn’t quite sure what happened to the last few pills of her blood pressure medication. Somehow, she lost them. Whatever happened, she ran out of her blood pressure medication a couple days ago, and though she’s covered by Medicaid, she has to wait to refill the prescription. So she’s been going without.
Today, Yvonne, who lives in the area of Chalmers [...]
Kalvin wipes away tears on Friday as he leaves the Connect EACH to Care site on the borders of River Rouge Park on Detroit’s West Side. They may be tears of sheer relief. Kalvin was driving by and saw the sign for free dental care and immediately pulled over. That’s exactly what he needs. Kalvin hasn’t [...]
The blood pressure check was supposed to be routine. While waiting to get his teeth cleaned, Pastor Semmeal Thomas of City Covenant Church of Detroit had his blood pressure taken, too. The results were a skyrocketing 199 over 139. Dr. Kim Yu diagnosed the pastor with an irregular heartbeat in addition to the soaring blood pressure and [...]
Chuck leaps from gratitude to anger back to gratitude, thankfulness for the free dentistry of Connect EACH to Care blending all in one breath with rage generated by his helpless situation: “Places like this [Connect EACH to Care] are beautiful… Sometimes it makes me angry. I’m a veteran and I founded a company. You get sick and you get treated like dirt. [But] you come [...]
As Todd Rainey of BUSES International puts it, BUSES International specializes in “boxes on wheels.” Well, a very special box on wheels rolled into the parking lot of Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit Tuesday afternoon. BUSES’ latest “box” is a 32-ft long medical trailer outfitted with heat and air conditioning, running water, and two small but complete exam rooms connected [...]
Years ago, Amos didn’t care about the people he hurt. All he cared about was money. And he used violent means to get it. He ended up imprisoned: 22 years for armed robbery.
But since Amos got out of prison last September, he has handed out Thanksgiving meals, volunteered at a food pantry, shoveled snow for [...]
Nikki just looks like she is bursting with personality. Despite the chilly weather, she is embracing spring in a flowing teal skirt, flip-flops, and a small Mickey Mouse backpack. And when a volunteer compliments her on the sparkly blue hair bow that holds back her braids, the young woman smiles. “I’m getting in touch with my inner child,” [...]
