Employees of Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway reached out to the community Friday by sponsoring an event to aid the homeless and underserved population in Conway.
Employees brought the hospital’s mobile health unit to the parking lot of the Conway Ministry Center on Harkrider Street and provided blood-pressure screenings and flu shots — free of charge — to those requesting the services. The staff also distributed sack lunches and bottled water, as well as coats, socks, hats, gloves, scarves and tarps to those who attended the event; those items were free of charge as well.
“We have our mobile health unit out today trying to reach the needs of the community,” said the hospital’s chaplain, Laurie Cox of Little Rock. “We know some members of the community do not have a primary-care doctor, so we are trying to reach them if they have any health issues.
“We are here to do blood-pressure checks and give flu shots,” Cox said. “If they have additional needs, we will refer them to a physician.
“We are trying to make health care accessible to all residents of Conway,” she said. “There is a lot of need in this area. Instead of waiting for them to come to us, we are coming to them.
“The sack lunches were all made by employees,” Cox said. “And all of the items we are giving out today were donated by employees as well.
“This has been a good way for our employees to become a part of the community,” she said.
Cox said a grandmother had come by the mobile health unit earlier in the day with her two young grandchildren whom she is raising.
“She got coats for both of the grandchildren and a tarp,” Cox said. “She said they have a house, but the tarp would be used to block the wind, as the walls were a little thin.”
Brenda Hobbs of Conway was among the employees working inside the mobile health unit. She is a registered nurse at the new medical facility in Conway, but she is a longtime employee of the Baptist Health System.
“I transferred here from ‘Big Baptist’ in Little Rock,” Hobbs said, referring to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.
“I had been driving from Conway to Little Rock since 1990,” she said.
“I saw a gentleman today who was from Pine Bluff and was up here in a halfway house,” Hobbs said. “He was trying to get his disability straightened out. I gave him a flu shot, and Jackie [Thorne] did his blood pressure.
“I volunteered to work here today — we all did. I love ministering in any way I can. I’m blessed, and I want to be a blessing to others. I love doing the work of the Lord.”
Thorne is also a registered nurse and a longtime Baptist Health employee.
“I live in Little Italy and went to work at Big Baptist in 1987,” she said. “Years ago, when Baptist [Medical Center-Little Rock] participated in Operation Care (providing services for the homeless) down by the Arkansas River, I volunteered for that. I volunteered for this, too. I love to volunteer for these events for the community.
“This not only helps the people in the community; it is an opportunity for those of us that work together to pull together for the community.”
Joanie White-Wagoner of Conway, hospital administrator, said the hospital started working on this project about two months ago.
“I was driving home from work one day and saw some homeless folks on the side of the street. That made me start thinking about how there must be other homeless people in Conway that no one talks about. They are the forgotten folks. I went to Laurie [Cox] and told her I wanted to do something to address this situation,” White-Wagoner said.
“Laurie has been working with The Salvation Army in trying to get a homeless shelter here. There is a homeless population here in Conway and in Faulkner County. It’s not just a big-city issue. … It’s here, too,” White-Wagoner said.
Conway has a transitional homeless shelter, Bethlehem House, which has room for 44 residents, including eight emergency beds. City of Hope Outreach in Conway has Hope Home, which has eight beds for homeless men.
“These people have names and faces. We can’t forget about them. We want to reach out to them and take care of their medical needs the best we can,” she said.
“Our employees have really come together to make this event happen,” White-Wagoner said, adding that employees had made approximately 75
peanut butter sandwiches the day before the event.
“The peanut butter sandwich in that sack lunch may be the only source of protein some of these people have had in a couple of days,” she said.
White-Wagoner said the hospital, which opened Sept. 16 in Conway, will continue to try to reach the homeless and underserved community.
“Baptist is a healing ministry,” she said. “We are not going to forget. … We are here, and we want to be involved in the community. … We want to bring a face to the homeless.”
White-Wagoner said Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway will participate in Project Homeless Connect on Jan. 24, a project coordinated by the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas to connect individuals and families experiencing homelessness with the services and care they need.
The medical center also offers a wellness clinic from 3-6 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at New Hope Baptist Church, 1232 Watkins St. Various free services are offered during that time.
For more information on Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway, call (501) 585-2000.