While politicians debate health-care reform, local doctors are reaffirming their commitment to providing care for people, regardless of public policies and insurance companies.
The Integrated Medical Services Health Foundation is taking health care to the people with free educational events and medical screenings.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, doctors will be discussing health topics and offering free tests including those for glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. Anyone is welcome to take advantage of the free services at the Wal-Mart at 13055 W. Rancho Santa Fe Blvd. in Avondale.
"We want people to know their local doctors are their partners," Dr. Troy Anderson said. "We're here to help. This is local doctors giving back to the community."
Anderson works at Phoenix Neurology & Sleep Medicine's Litchfield Park office. It's important for people to see their doctors providing care outside of the office setting, he said.
"We got into this to take care of patients. No matter what happens with health-care reform, we will still be taking care of people," he said.
Dr. John Hopkins, founder of Southwest Family Medicine in Goodyear, said he hopes the health forum this weekend is the first of many for the foundation.
"As physicians, all of us have a sense of obligation to help our community," he said. "We are interested in making sure patient care comes first."
The doctors will do preliminary screenings for Alzheimer's, sleep apnea and aneurysm, in addition to the more common tests during the weekend event. The services will be free and doctors will provide resources for patients to follow up on any issues of concern that arise.
"We understand we will be seeing some people with limited or no ability to pay for follow-up care," Hopkins said. "We will help with that and see that they get what they need."
Providing even more free services in the future is a goal of the health foundation, Anderson said. Being able to offer complete exams rather than simple screenings would be a tremendous benefit to low-income patients, he said.
"We eventually have a goal of putting together a free health clinic," he said.
Checking your blood pressure and cholesterol can be life-saving measures, the doctors agreed.
"These contribute to chronic diseases that cause heart attacks and strokes," Anderson said.
Dedicated Clinical Research in Litchfield Park donated the medical testing supplies. People will be able to get a cholesterol test result on the same day.
Physicians will also speak about health issues and answer questions. At 9 a.m., Hopkins will discuss diabetes. At 10 a.m., Dr. Adhar Seth will discuss heart attacks and aneurysms. At 11 a.m., Anderson will talk about strokes and sleep apnea.
"It's raising people's awareness of their health," Hopkins said. "Almost any disease process you can name, the outcomes are better if you catch it early."
The purpose of the foundation is to provide health information to the public, offer disaster relief when needed and promote the field of medicine for students, Hopkins said.
"We are also providing scholarships to introduce young people to medicine," he said. "The challenge is to remain focused on the promotion of medicine."
Beth Ott can be reached by e-mail
at bott@westvalleyview.com.
