SOMA helps ‘Cover the Uninsured’
Posted: July 9, 2009
SOMA student Adam Berkovits, OMS II, shares health information with a potential patient at El Rio Community Health Center’s Cover the Uninsured Health Fair in Tucson, Ariz.
With the help of 10 second-year SOMA students, El Rio Community Health Center in Tucson, Ariz., hosted its Cover the Uninsured Health Fair on March 24 as part of national Cover the Uninsured Week, held March 22-28.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, approximately one out of every five Arizonans does not have health insurance, the fourth highest rate in the nation. Cover the Uninsured Week reaches out to people without health insurance to make sure they have information about available resources.
This year’s event was held at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, home to one of El Rio’s 16 medical clinics. More than 700 people came out to learn about El Rio’s programs, visit booths hosted by 16 other nonprofit organizations, and enjoy a healthy meal provided by Food City. Visitors participated in many different health screenings, and met representatives from health-related and social service agencies to see what services they might qualify for.
Participating SOMA students included Adam Berkovits, Devang Butani, Cynthia Chaparro-Krueger, Krystal Chavez, Tomas Chavez, Emily Edwards, Robert Greenwood, Osama Niazi, Ryan Owen, and Brighid Sullivan.
Story reprinted with permission from the El Rio Community Health Center