Tzu Chi Free Clinic in Antelope Valley
(Translated by Donna Juan, Northern California)
For the Tzu Chi Free Clinic in Los Angeles,
the free medical service in Antelope Valley on Oct. 28 was
only a medium-scale event. But for local people who had few
medical resources, it was very significant.
In a desert area in the middle of nowhere,
592 people showed up. Some walked for one to two hours, some
car-pooled, some took buses, some came on horseback, all because
they did not want to miss the opportunity.
Lake Los Angeles, in Antelope Valley, is
located approximately one hundred miles north of downtown
Los Angeles, right next to the endless Mojave Desert. Geographically
it is part of Los Angeles County, but the difference in quality
of life is like night and day. The local population consists
mostly of illegal Mexican immigrants.
Many local people do not have medical insurance,
and many have seldom seen a dentist. With the complete medical
services and the Great Love mobile clinic provided by the
Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA), residents
were amazed to learn that there are people who care. Ellie
Graham, a family-planning specialist at Healthy Start, a local
social service organization, contacted Tzu Chi to organize
the event. She said, "The people feel the value in their
existence. Knowing that there are people who care about them
is a very precious feeling."
Actually, it wasn't just the patients that
were amazed: it was also an eye-opener for the local doctors
who volunteered to serve at the free clinic. Prior to the
event, Graham had made numerous phone calls and distributed
fliers, hoping to recruit more local dentists. Most replied,
"They aren't my patients." Graham mailed more than
a hundred letters. Only five dentists volunteered.
Such a large-scale free clinic was a first
in this area. The five local volunteers had never attended
one, and they thought it was just to distribute some brochures
about health. They agreed to attend because they "caved
in" to Graham's persistence, but they said that they
would stay for only one to two hours.
When the local doctors arrived at the site,
Tzu Chi volunteers and medical personnel had already started
their work. The new people also saw that the mobile clinic
had a complete set of dental equipment. This surprised them
and they immediately participated.
Dental care was the most popular service
at the clinic. Many parents brought their children, and some
entire families came to take advantage of it. The lines were
long, but people would rather skip a meal than leave because
they had not seen a dentist for a long time and/or could not
afford to see one.
One patient saw a gynecologist, a Chinese
medicine doctor, and finally a dentist at three o'clock in
the afternoon. Afterwards she said with delight, "It
was worth the wait. As long as I can see a dentist, waiting
for even ten hours is not an issue." She was lucky because
many had to leave disappointed when the time ran out. TIMA
will go back another time with the main goal of providing
dental service.
Witnessing the extensive needs and the work
of more than a hundred Tzu Chi volunteers and medical personnel,
the local dentists who volunteered were very touched. Two
of the dentists were father and son. The father only promised
to stay for a couple of hours. When reminded that it was time
to leave, he said, "I can't leave. I still have a lot
of patients."
Melissa Nabors, one of the local doctors,
was among those who stayed till the last minute. She was deeply
impressed by the complete medical equipment, volunteer resources,
and the attitude of service. She said that the experience
was a very rare inspiration for them. She believed that through
word of mouth, more local doctors would participate the next
time the Tzu Chi free clinic comes to town.
