UNAC/UHCP Members Serve the 39th Assembly District Community
October 2008
Assembly Member Fuentes receives a glaucoma exam administered by UNAC/UHCP member Julie Hwang, OD, at Kaiser Panorama City
Los Angeles, CA – On Saturday, optometrists, nurses, and physician assistants from the UNAC/UHCP administered eye, glaucoma and blood pressure testing for approximately 1400 community members in the 39th Assembly District at the 2nd Annual Family Resource Fair. Held at the Branford Recreation Center, the theme for the event was "Be Healthy, Stay Safe, and Go Green."
Sponsored annually by California State Assembly Member Felipe Fuentes, the event focuses on empowering all members of the community by increasing awareness of health, safety and environmental issues. Understanding the problems related to the lack of access to healthcare, UNAC/UHCP members provided much needed screening tests for local residents who might otherwise be unaware of existing medical issues.
"It is really rewarding to be able to provide health screenings to community members who cannot afford these important tests," commented Julie Hwang, a doctor of optometry at Kaiser Panorama City . "The health care crisis in this country is impacting people in our community every day because they don’t have access to the medical care they need."
Daria Smith, a nurse at Kaiser Fontana, performed a blood pressure exam on one woman that showed she had high blood pressure.
"When I told the woman that she had high blood pressure, she told me she’d already been diagnosed with the condition," stated Smith. "She just couldn’t afford to pay for the medicine she needed to help bring her pressure into the normal range."
To thank the UNAC/UHCP members for volunteering to help the community, Assembly Member Fuentes presented UNAC/UHCP with a certificate of recognition. Then, UNAC/UHCP members performed the screening tests on Assembly Member Fuentes.
"Access to healthcare continues to be a problem in the Northeast San Fernando Valley ," said Assembly Member Fuentes. "It is incredibly important to provide improved access to health services like these to all families, and this annual event gives members of our community the opportunity to have their families tested for illnesses and get free access to important screening exams."