Two days after celebrating the graduating Class of 2024, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School’s gymnasium hosted the start of a week-long health and wellness fair. One hundred registered residents received screenings and services on the first day, and organizers said Sunday’s turnout was greater than the first.
But unlike other health fairs, this year’s outreach is a joint endeavor between the V.I. government and the U.S. Department of Defense. The Digna Marie Wheatley Gymnasium on St. Thomas is one of three venues territory-wide where the public can access testing, diagnoses and recommendations to better their health and that of their families.
Military doctors and dentists joined with local health providers conducting general medical exams, eye, dental and mental health evaluations. A small on-site pharmacy and a chiropractor stood by to help with immediate referrals. Officer-in-Charge Major Mu Zhang described how the visiting providers’ Innovative Readiness Training Program played a role in making care possible.
Zhang is leading a team of 300 healthcare providers, including 25 doctors, 20 dentists and 16 optometrists, along with nurses, technicians and support staff.
“Even though this is a medical mission, the IRT team has many different capabilities,” Zhang said. “This mission will do a good job in laying down a foundation for a Virgin Islands and IRT partnership, so moving forward, we can bring out different service members and different capabilities.”
Health Department Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tai Hunte Ceasar spent most of the weekend overseeing the rollout of the St. Thomas wellness fair. She said this week’s outreach was the second collaboration with the military training program.
“It initially started with the need for a quick pediatric clinic last August. We used that opportunity to plan a clinic within two months so that we could have back-to-school physicals, and that was a huge success,” Hunter-Ceasar said.
Several of those who showed up on the first weekend were families with small children, but residents, young and old, appeared to take advantage of the healthcare opportunity.
“I saw someone cry,” said Assistant Health Commissioner Nicole Craigwell-Syms when the client seeking eye care was given a free pair of glasses.
But during a guided tour by Master Sgt. Rachelle Morris on Sunday, it seemed the favored service was the dental screenings. Morris mentioned that some of the Saturday clients re-registered in order to come back for dental services on Sunday.
And while most of those attending the clinics came for routine screenings, there were those who had an urgent need for medical attention. At the bottom of the stairs leading to the gymnasium, two soldiers listened while a woman seated at the bottom stopped to catch her breath.
The visitor said she had been wheezing. The soldiers asked if the woman would wait there while they brought a medical provider outside to see her.
Similar services are being offered on St. Croix at the Educational Complex, while a leaner selection is available on St. John at the Morris F. deCastro Clinic in Cruz Bay.
Maternal and Child Health Clinics at the University of the Virgin Islands Great Hall on St. Croix and in the Elanco Building near the Nisky Center on Thomas also serve as wellness care venues.
Screenings and services are available on a first-come, first-served basis for registered participants. Registration is available online and on-site, with assistants helping applicants fill out paper forms. Information on the health fair is available in Spanish, English, Arabic and French Creole.
