If you’ve been to one health fair you’ve been to them all. Glossy brochures. Cool give-a-ways. A variety of complimentary health screenings. Free pressure readings. Instant blood glucose tests. Good information. And then you walk away with some disturbing diagnosis, only to find yourself asking “Ok, now what do I do?” While these fairs are well meaning events, the lack of follow-up care always seems to be the missing link. You arrive ready to take control of your health but, leave either unsatisfied or feeling worse because a potential problem was identified.

Well, this was not at all the case last Saturday! Close to 2,000 of Houston’s uninsured residents showed up at the Reliant Center to take Dr. Oz up on his offer for free check-ups, medical screenings and tests. This was certainly not your ordinary health fair. Dr. Oz partnered with the National Association of Free Clinics to host what may become known as the largest free clinic event in America! Houston’s selection was not happenchance. On average, one out of three persons in Houston does not have coverage. Statewide, it’s an alarming one in four people across Texas without health coverage!

At first glance, the staggering numbers and short time period for the health fair could suggest chaos. But as Dr. Oz worked the entire 168,000 square foot Reliant Center room, with more than 120 exam partitioned rooms, there was a surreal feeling of calm, peace and hope. From the top down the volunteer staff was warm, welcoming, engaging and truly helpful. The staff included hundreds of medical professionals (pediatricians, oncologists, cardiologists, E.R. doctors, general
practitioners and nurses of various specialties), as well as families and even church groups from as far away as North Carolina.

The range of care provided on Saturday varied from the typical check up to acute issues requiring immediate attention. In one case, Dr. Oz worked directly with a woman with very high blood pressure, 200/110. Dr. Oz recalled “she was about to faint, couldn’t breathe because her heart couldn’t pump anymore.” So he quickly ran some tests, put her in the on-site ICU, and was able to get her blood pressure down. After her breathing improved, personnel were on hand to transport her to a near-by hospital.

Natalie Flint and her son, both in need of medical attention, were able to be seen at the clinic on Saturday. “I was grateful that they actually had the program…It was very well organized and people were friendly and helpful and I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” she said.

“We are so excited that Dr. Oz partnered with us to bring the face of the uninsured to Houston,” said Nicole Lamoureux, Executive Director of the National Association of Free Clinics. “What we really are seeing is that 83% of the patients that come to free clinics…come from working households and we really wanted to show that the uninsured in America right now are your friends and your neighbors and the people you go to the grocery store with. They’re people who have recently lost their jobs who just a year ago thought the had a health insurance and a great job and now …they have no where else to turn,” Lamoureaux shares.

This was the case for Donna Holmes who explained “I don’t have insurance and I am unemployed and I have some problems and I wanted to get them checked out.” She too thought the well organized event provided her with the answers she needed. “What they did is referred me to a nearby clinic that I can get a primary doctor,” Holmes told us.

Lamoureaux describes Free Clinics as a response to America’s growing health care needs. Last year alone they were able to service nearly 4 million patients across the U.S. Working very closely with the various communities they identify the most common needs, whether diabetes or respiratory illnesses. “And then we tailor all of our services to that area on top of the primary care that we also give in those laces,” explained Lamoureux. Remarkably, they do all of this with no state or federal funding! Donations, local support and grants are their only sources of funding.

Dr. Oz has worked with free clinics in the past, but he realizes that “the big challenges they face are partly because people don’t know that they exist so folks don’t go get their care there.”

“When we started off we thought it was going to be a small little thing. I wanted to shine the spotlight on the importance of clinics in America. I had no idea that in 48 hours we’d pack in 2000 people making it the biggest health clinic in the country.”

As important as the event was, he describes it more as a cry from people who are in desperate need for healthcare. Dr. Oz recalls that the last time the City of Houston mobilized health resources of this magnitude was for Katrina. He said “ I was at Katrina and I know what a natural disasters feels like, this is a national disaster…it’s our fault and it feels the same way to me.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Lamoureux shared, “the good news is when they get done with this event, these patients are being connected to a medical home. They are being connected with a clinic in their area that can take care of them. This is not a one shot deal… They are going to have a place where they can have follow up care and continued care… That is so important and that is what makes this event so special.”

Dr. Oz is committed to changing health care in America. “I think that we have changed some lives today, people who if they hadn’t come here would have lost their leg or maybe their life.”

For the uninsured who did not attend, they too will benefit from the light shed on the clinics in Texas offering free health care. To find a free clinic close to you visit the The Lone Star Association of charitable clinics a http://txlsacc.org/.

Dr. Oz hopes people will tune in daily to the “Dr. Oz Show” for the valuable information he will provide. He too wants people to feel empowered to take charge of their own health destiny.

The generous surgeon’s show, which is produced by Oprah’s company HARPO, was the primary sponsor for this event. “We feel passionate about it and I tell you there is no better place I would put the money.” He plans on doing more free clinics around the country.