Van gives health service to uninsured

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - According to state lawmakers, the lack of health insurance is a problem affecting more than one million Virginians.

The Virginia Health Care Foundation says it's an issue that continues to get worse.

There are services working in our community to provide health care to the uninsured, targeting people who may feel they have nowhere else to turn.

Twice a month, the Bon Secours health system sets up a makeshift doctor's office at Calvary Chapel in Newport News.

"The churches are our portal into some of these communities. They provide space for us to operate. It's a true marriage of efforts," said Dave Baldwin with Bon Secours.

The relationship works because of a moving medical facility making the equivalent of house calls.

"Every time we take the Care-A-Van into into the community, we discover these unmet needs," said Baldwin.

The Bon Secours Care-A-Van has traveled Hampton Roads for the last two years.

The concept is fairly new and nurse practitioner Meaghan Lansley spends much of her day as a teacher.

"We provide care for anybody who walks to us without insurance. Right now, that's a big population," said Lansley. "I had a patient tell me one day, I saw the van, wondered what it was about. We're now her primary care source at this time."

Baldwin added, "These are people who need these services. It is essential to keeping them out of the emergency rooms, trying to prevent what catastrophic events could result if they let these health conditions continue."

Lansley says she sees people with chronic hypertension and untreated diabetes.

The Kaiser Commission says uninsured Americans have lower five-year survival rates, as well as a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with late stage cancers.

"A lot of the work we try to do is to prevent what have become repeat ER visits that try to obtain their medications and maintain some sort of stability with the diseases and the health challenges they are facing," said Lansley.

And that's why it's Lansley's goal to get the word out while the traveling doctor's office is a place where anyone without insurance can turn.

"This setting hopefully is welcoming to everybody," said Lansley.

The Care-A-Van service is funded entirely by donations. The schedule is online at bonsecours.com . It has stops in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News. You can also call 899-CARE (2273). It is first come, first serve, and there are some appointments available.