A week-long health and wellness fair kicked off in the Evanna Eudora Keene High School gymnasium two days after the celebration for the Class of 2024. On the first day, 100 registered residents received testing and services, and organizers said attendance on Sunday was even higher than the first day.
But unlike other health fairs, this year’s outreach is a joint effort between the Virgin Islands government and the U.S. Department of Defense. Digna Marie Wheatley Gymnasium on St. Thomas is one of three locations across the territory where the public can receive testing, diagnosis and advice to improve their own and their family’s health.
Military doctors and dentists worked with local medical providers to conduct general medical exams, eye, dental and mental health screenings. A small on-site pharmacy and chiropractor were on hand to handle immediate referrals. Maj. Mu Chang, the officer in charge, explained how the visiting medical providers’ innovative readiness training programs played a role in making the care possible.
Zhang leads a team of 300 medical workers, including 25 doctors, 20 dentists, 16 optometrists, nurses, technicians and support staff.
“Though this is a medical mission, the IRT team has a variety of capabilities,” Zhang said, “and this mission will serve well in laying the foundation for a partnership between the Virgin Islands and the IRT, where we can bring in different service members and different capabilities going forward.”
Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Tai Hunte-Caesar, who spent much of the weekend overseeing the rollout of the St. Thomas Health Fair, said this week’s outreach efforts mark the department’s second collaboration with the military training program.
“It originally started out of a need for a pediatric clinic last August, and we took the opportunity to plan a clinic within two months so they could do back-to-school health checks, which has been a huge success,” Hunter Caesar said.
Among those who visited during the first weekend were families with small children, but it appeared that residents of all ages and genders were taking advantage of the medical opportunities.
“You could see someone crying,” said Deputy Health Commissioner Nicole Craigwell Sims as free glasses were handed out to patients seeking eye care.
But dental check-ups appeared to be a favored service during a tour led by Staff Sergeant Rachel Morris on Sunday, with Morris noting that some patients from Saturday had re-registered to receive dental services on Sunday.
Most of the people who came to the clinic were there for routine checkups, but some required urgent medical attention. Two soldiers listened at the foot of the stairs leading to the gym, while a woman sat at the bottom of the stairs, pausing to catch her breath.
The visitor said she was wheezing, and the soldiers asked her to wait there while they brought medical personnel outside to examine her.
Similar services are offered at an education complex on St. Croix, and the Morris F. De Castro Clinic in Cruz Bay on St. John offers a more limited selection.
The Maternal and Child Health Clinic at the University of the Virgin Islands Great Hall on St. Croix and at Elancoville near Niski Center on Thomas Island also serve as health care sites.
Testing and services will be available to registered attendees on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration can be done online and on-site, and assistants will help applicants complete paper forms. Information about the health fair will be available in Spanish, English, Arabic and French Creole.
