Haven’t had your blood pressure checked recently and feeling guilty about it? Glendale Adventist Medical Center is trying to address that problem. The non-profit hospital recently began sending a community health van to Glendale neighborhoods, where it offers free health risk assessments to residents. The hospital received a $500,000 grant to convert a 38-foot van that features two exam rooms, an X-ray booth, blood pressure station and a 50-inch television. Operating costs for the staff and van are being carried by the hospital. The idea is to catch chronic diseases early on, while also providing preventative health counseling. Health risk assessments, which take about 20 to 30 minutes, are administered to detect diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. “We want to address disease earlier. Sometimes we can’t prevent (disease) but we can detect it early,” said Brian Nelson, community service director at Glendale Adventist. “That’s a very important part of what we want to do.” At least four medical professionals will be aboard the van, including a doctor, a medical resident, a nurse and a chronic disease specialist. The project was funded by a $500,000 grant from the John Stauffer Foundation, a Los Angeles foundation that supports education and health care. “Normally people get in their car and drive to the doctor’s office, but not everybody can do that. Having the van, we can bring the medical care to the patient,” said Tim Gosney, a foundation trustee. The van will not be rolling through random neighborhoods unannounced. Rather, the hospital will partner with membership organizations such as senior centers and faith-based groups to set appointments for the van to stop by. The hospital also wants to bring the van as a benefit to businesses through a paying health-insurance arrangement. Under the program, the van would visit a business and perform tests for chronic diseases on employees. Patients attended on the van will not be required to have insurance, nor will they have to pay for the services. The van has been in use since Dec. 11 and the goal is to bring the van to at least 100 member organizations over the next two years. Wrapped Vans Gaspar Insurance Services in Woodland Hills is resorting to an old-school method of advertising – posting an ad on the side of a vehicle. And it’s not just any vehicle, but a van owned by the Boys & Girls Club of West Valley. The wrapped van cost $5,000 for two years and is the first of six vans the club hopes to get sponsored. “Having our colorful van traveling throughout the community helps raise awareness of the club and is a great marketing benefit to Gaspar Insurance,” said Jan Sobel, chief executive of the club. The Canoga Park youth services non-profit uses the vans to provide transportation to area elementary, middle and high school students, including Calvert Elementary in Woodland Hills, Village Charter Academy in Canoga Park and Ivy Academia Taft in West Hills. “A key part of Gaspar’s company mission is supporting our community, and especially our youth,” said Gaspar Insurance owner Tim Gaspar. Baseball Gear Wrigley Little League of Los Angeles received $10,000 worth of new and gently used equipment at a Jan. 17 ceremony at Galpin Honda in Mission Hills. Pitch In For Baseball, a Harleysville, Pa. non-profit that donates baseball and softball equipment to teams worldwide, distributed the equipment after receiving $100,000 from the official vehicle of Little League Baseball and Softball and American Honda Motor Corp. in Torrance. The funds were given in celebration of Little League’s 75th anniversary. “(We’re) always honored to have the opportunity to support the youth in our community,” said Ed Hartoonian, President of the Southern California Honda Dealers Association, in a statement. “Especially through an organization that provides a safe, positive and fun activity for kids.” Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].
