UT-Houston Brings Health Care to Underserved Community

After the medical check-up ends, Olga Bravo gives family nurse practitioner Diane Akhras a big hug. Since she speaks only Spanish, this is the way the 45-year-old can show her gratitude for the help she has received from the Health Buggy program.

Health Buggy nurse practitioner Susan Rogers
examines Cinthia Lorenzo in her examination room
at the Kid Care office building.

"People we are helping don't know the (medical) system and, as a consequence, they lack confidence and give up as soon as they face the first hurdle such as having to wait long hours for an appointment or not being able to get their prescriptions immediately," says Akhras, who is one of two nurse practitioners working for the Health Buggy program in The University of Texas-Houston Medical School department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences.

"We treat minor and acute illnesses, but we also refer people to local health and social service agencies and help them to get their necessary paperwork together," Akhras explains. "We take them to their medical appointments and we make sure they understand their prescriptions and the procedures on how to apply for medical assistance."

Bravo, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, contacted the nurse practitioner after hearing about the program through drivers of Kid-Care Inc., a program that delivers food to needy children.

"The idea of the Health Buggy is to deliver health care directly to people who would not otherwise get it," Akhras says. The organization's long-term goal is to provide not only free health care but also health education, she says. "We show the patients how to help themselves in minor medical cases and how to be aware of what is going on around them."

The Health Buggy program is a joint collaborative effort between UT-Houston and the Kid Care program, says Dr. Michelle Curtis, UT-Houston assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive services. "Kid-Care Inc. provides space and serves as a referral source for the Health Buggy program," she says.

Kid-Care Inc. was founded by Carol and Hurt Porter 14 years ago when Carol Porter, a registered nurse, turned their home into a food pantry preparing meals for hungry children in her neighborhood. Since then, the non-profit organization has prospered in size as well as in national recognition.

Porter strongly believes that eliminating hunger is the first essential step in fighting poverty and crime. The meal delivery program, recognized nationally as the first of its kind, is the heart of the initiative. Over the years, Kid-Care Inc. has been expanded by a number of programs that focus on the education and cultural exposure of children, such as day care, field trips and summer camps.

When Carol Porter met Dr. Curtis in 1995, "Carol wanted to create a program to provide medical care for the families of Kid-Care clients," Dr. Curtis says. "She had the capacity to feed the children, and I had the capacity to help their medical needs."

The Health Buggy program started as a senior elective for medical students as part of their clerkship in ob-gyn. The students accompanied the food delivery staff providing physical screening and immunizations.

To provide a higher level of medical care on a more regular bases, Dr. Curtis sought and received an initial grant of $180,000 from Episcopal Health Charities. She hired a pediatric and a family practice nurse practitioner, and Carol Porter became the administrative coordinator for the program.

Both nurse practitioners have examination rooms in the Kid-Care office located in North Houston.

"One of the main roles of the Health Buggy is to help parents to understand their child's health needs and to help them access the resources available for them," the pediatric nurse practitioner Susan Rogers explains.

Children at Risk, which does research for the National Center for Children in Poverty, found in 1996 that 240,000 children in Houston were living in poverty.

For information on how you can get involved with Kid-Care Inc., call 713-695-KIDS or visit the web site at www.kid-care.com.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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