Free day of health care brings together best of Wichita

It resembled a M*A*S*H unit to Ted Ayres a year ago. Collections of tents in Fairmount Park with doctors, dentists and volunteers under them, tending to patients.

It also resembled some of the best of what public and private partners can do together — a day of free, no-questions-asked medical care in a segment of the community with higher numbers of uninsured and under-insured residents.

The second edition of Via Christi Health’s Medical Mission at Home is Saturday, this time at Mueller Aerospace Magnet Elementary, 2500 E. 18th Street.

“Because of finances and because of other issues, it’s easy for people to put off seeking medical care,” said Ayres, Wichita State University’s director of community engagement and opportunity. “There’s also a fear involved, realistically, and maybe a lack of understanding of how important preventative care is.”

Medical Mission at Home encourages Wichitans to seek health care either for specific problems or for a general check. Stations include medical testing, dental, vision, hearing, foot care and behavioral health care.

After treating 230 people last year, organizers are hopeful of serving 500 on Saturday. Almost 900 volunteers will help patients. More than 40 businesses and groups are involved.

The idea for bringing a day of free health care to Wichita began in the fall of 2016, when Ayres and former Via Christi chief communications officer Skip Hidlay met. Via Christi’s parent company, Ascension, had success with Medical Mission at Home in other cities, and WSU was a natural collaborator because its mission and proximity to the neighborhood.

Six months later, there were tents in Fairmount Park. The first Medical Mission at Home had sunny skies and warm temperatures.

Sunny skies and warm weather aren’t predicted for Saturday, but that’s OK.

“We’re not gambling people,” said Charity Clark, manager of transitional care for Via Christi and a lead organizer.

Organizers got the Wichita school district involved and will use Mueller and the city’s nearby Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center on Saturday.

The new location remains just blocks from the university, which is supplying about 300 volunteers from its College of Health Professions. Six dentists are part of the university’s residency program, and dental hygienists and social workers are also involved. Younger students act in other volunteer roles, working on essential interpersonal skills.

“I try to spend a lot of time talking with the students, remind them that you’re citizens in the community,” said Sandra Bibb, dean of the College of Health Professions. “And we’re a community of caring individuals. This provides us with an opportunity to show that.”

As with any public event, two factors determine turnout: weather and getting the word out. Organizers hope blanketing the surrounding 67214 zip code with mailers, and sending home fliers with students from Mueller and nearby Spaight elementaries, will sufficiently make residents aware.

Word of mouth, organizers hope, will also help.

“You can put out communication after communication after communication, but until people really see that it is viable and appropriate, and that you can experience free medical care with no questions asked, there’s an unknown,” Ayres said.

For Ayres, it’s his last time to work on Medical Mission at Home as a WSU employee. He’ll retire this summer after three years of community engagement after 19 years as the university’s general counsel.

In both roles, he was cognizant of the role the university plays in its community. The day of free health care is a natural connection to the neighborhoods surrounding the university.

“As I began this role, I did a lot of reading and reached out to colleagues around the country,” Ayres said. “What were other universities, and particularly other urban universities, doing to shape their communities? Community engagement is part of who we are and who we should be.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2018 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Free day of health care brings together best of Wichita."