Care Harbor 2019 was a two day event that took place at Pomona’s Fairplex on Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th. Healthcare Career College’s students and instructors were there bright and early ready to serve the community. Our students volunteered their skills to provide free medical attention to thousands of patients at the event.
Care Harbor’s mission, aims to provide free medical, dental, and vision care for individuals that do not have the means for regular medical attention. The event serves as a medical resource for people of the community that are uninsured or of low income. Care Harbor was born out of the idea that medical attention should not be a privilege for people, rather a human right.
Our students volunteered in a lot of different areas assisting patients with all kinds of medical needs. Students were stationed at the registration section checking in patients and directing them to the proper areas. Medical Assistant students were stationed at the Glucose Testing area. There, patients got their glucose levels tested as part of their free medical services as well as got their weight and height measured. Second year volunteer, student Elisabeth Gonzalez, stated “I really enjoy being able to give back to my community; a lot of the people we helped today would not otherwise have access to simple medical checkups”. It was a great opportunity for the medical assistant students to get hands on exposure to what they could anticipate in their future professional endeavors.
The event also had help from Healthcare Career College’s Dental Assistant students. Supervised by Dental Assistant Instructor, Ms. Evangeline, the Dental Assistant students assisted Dentists while they performed an array of procedures to the patients at Care Harbor. People were being treated by Dentists for teeth cleanings, fillings, crowns, and even root canals. The students were sterilizing the different dental instruments having them readily available for when the Dentists needed them. Ms. Evangeline shared “I am very proud to see my students put the skills they have learned in class to use to positively impact the lives of these people”. Many patients left the Dental stations with a big smile on their face.
Ultrasound imaging was also being provided for those patients who needed it. Healthcare Career College’s Ultrasound students were eager to provide their aid to individuals that had medical concerns scanning for a multitude of people. Ultrasound student, Brenda Verduzco, stated “today I scanned patients for things such as fibroids, kidney failure, and pregnancies”. She was very proud to be able to use the knowledge she had learned from her hands on training to help a multitude of patients. The patients seen were super grateful because they would not otherwise have access to scanning and getting checked out for their concerns.
The event was a great opportunity for the students and teachers to give back to the community. All students that got the opportunity to volunteer left with a rewarding feeling because they were able to help people who truly benefited from their skills and knowledge. Healthcare Career College looks forward to helping thousands of others for years to come in collaboration with Care Harbor.
