Overtown residents have a new outlet to get medical care with the OnMed CareStation, officially unveiled last week. Located in the Overtown Youth Center (OYC), the 8’ x 11’ booth provides high-quality healthcare access to locals free of charge.
The purpose of the machine is to provide community members with the medical help they need — without delay. Clinics around Overtown are often packed with patients experiencing homelessness and other individuals in need, causing frequent wait times of 45 minutes or longer. The OnMed CareStation aims to provide some relief to the issue and mitigate health problems for Overtown residents before they become more severe.
"The CareStation is a game-changer for our youth and families, offering immediate, accessible medical care where it's needed most," said Tina Brown, CEO of the Overtown Youth Center.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the OnMed CareStation took place on Thursday, April 10. NBA Hall-of-Famer and OYC founder Alonzo Mourning and his wife, Tracy Wilson Mourning, were among those who gathered at the OYC to celebrate the launch of the new technology. Parents and board members of OnMed and OYC were present to discuss the breakthrough the CareStation has made for families and residents in Overtown.
"This is a big deal because there are a lot of kids that don't have insurance and don't know which clinics to go to,” said Synder Jean, a parent with the OYC. “OnMed being here means when kids get sick, they have a place to go to and take care of needs that parents may not be able to handle due to not having insurance.”
The OnMed CareStation has been located inside the OYC for six months now. Patients can enter the booth and speak directly to a clinician through video chat. It has technologies ready to check blood pressure, weight and other health variables, in addition to high-definition cameras that can scan various body parts like the eyes, ears and throat. After the check, the clinician can refer the individual to a specialist, send a prescription to a local clinic, or call 911 if necessary.
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OnMed has deployed its CareStations in six states thus far. One of them is located in the Tampa Hope homeless shelter, which houses 500 people. Before the station arrived, the shelter would call 911 every day for medical emergencies. Three months after the CareStation was installed, the shelter's 911 calls dropped by 50 percent.
"The 911 calls were becoming outrageous. First responders would show up multiple times a day. We presented them a CareStation to not only lower those calls but to improve the health literacy and the overall health of those people in the community," said Howard Gruverman, president of OnMed.
Healthcare disparities in Overtown
Funded by The Lennar Foundation, the OnMed CareStation aims to fill a gap in healthcare access for Overtown residents, many of whom do not have insurance or can't afford to see a doctor. According to parents and OYC staff, the emergency rooms at Jackson Memorial Hospital are often occupied by Overtown's large homeless population. Wait times for the hospital can be so long that some residents don't bother to show up unless they have a serious issue.
Jean shared how the CareStation spared his wife a trip to the local clinic.
"My wife came home and complained about a headache. I told her to go to the clinic. She said ‘no’ because of time and she had to be at work. She was able to go to the OnMed CareStation and explain to the doctors what she was dealing with. They prescribed something for her, and she could pick it up at Walgreens. They helped her with the headache, and she didn't have to wait 45 minutes at the clinic," he said.
The CareStation has also made a difference for parents living in Overtown, sometimes preventing them from needing to pull their kids out of school due to minor illnesses. Fabiola Jean-Pierre, a Family Service Program manager for the OYC, said that hundreds have already come to use the CareStation for their varying needs. She explained how the CareStation provides convenience for families when children are not feeling their best.
"We don't have a nurse on site for our students that we see on a regular basis. When the students aren't feeling well, we've been able just to walk them downstairs, and they've been able to access a doctor. We let their mom know, and they receive instructions on what to do when they get home," said Jean Pierre.
Gruverman confirmed that more stations will continue to be placed in underserved communities throughout the country. The tech company wants to branch out and place CareStations in senior centers, prisons and college campuses, utilizing its technology to remove barriers and offer help to a strained healthcare system.
"Our goal is to put them in urban and rural communities that may not have the resources. There's a shortage of doctors and nurses in the community, and the system is being stretched. We want to create an environment where the low-acuity people who just need quick help can get it. This can help the system become more efficient," said Gruverman.
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. Read more at miamitimesonline.com.
