UNMC, Educare partnership includes adult health care

Educare children thank Rubens Pamies, M.D., UNMC’s vice chancellor for academic affairs, center, Prevention Man, left, and Ira Combs, right, nurse and community liaison with UNMC’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities.

For weeks, Joe Grace heard the sales pitch from his five year-old great nephew, Xavier. The unique child education center were Xavier attends was having a health fair and Xavier wanted his great uncle to come.

Grace admits he can’t afford to go to the doctor so he hasn’t been in a while. Reluctantly, he strolled into the lobby of The Educare Center of Omaha.

He met Ira Combs and Jackie Hill from UNMC’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities. They took his blood pressure, gave him valuable health information and discussed the importance of participating in research studies.

UNMC’s College of Nursing Cosmopolitan Mobile Nursing Center provided cholesterol and diabetes screenings, height, weight and body mass index information.

It was all part of Educare’s annual parental health fair.

“Most of the children are Medicaid eligible but the adults are not. So they don’t always have access to health care,” said Holly Miller, Educare health service coordinator. “This event assists parents in obtaining basic health care needs.”

Educare, which opened in 2003, provides state-of-the-art, year round education and child care for economically disadvantaged children from birth to age five. It is a collaborative effort involving Omaha Public Schools, the Omaha Public Schools Head Start program, the State of Nebraska and the Susan A. Buffett Foundation.

This is the third year UNMC has partnered with Educare to provide health screenings for the parents of Educare kids.

“We know health disparities are common in low-income and minority groups. That is why we are bringing health information and care directly to the community.” Rubens Pamies, M.D.

Other participating health agencies included Boys Town National Research Hospital, which offered hearing screenings; Prevent Blindness, which provided vision and glaucoma screenings; the Douglas County Health Department, which informed parents about safe sleeping habits for infants; and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which provided nutritional information.

“These services are essential because many Educare parents are uninsured or underinsured and can’t afford regular health screenings,” said Rubens Pamies, M.D., UNMC vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We also know health disparities are common in low-income and minority groups. That is why we are bringing health information and care directly to the community.”

“We have a family friendly, safe environment and parents get to know their children’s teachers on a one-on-one basis. So, hopefully, parents feel less intimidated about getting health screenings here,” Miller said.

Grace said he had a good health experience … even though his results weren’t the best.

“I thought my blood pressure would be better. It was kind of high and my cholesterol was high, too,” Grace said. “But this (health fair) helps me keep up with everything and it was free.”

Now, both Grace and his nephew, Xavier, are smiling.