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Monumental Error

Mobile Medical Van Prowls Concord's Monument Corridor

By Camille Giglio

Reports in the media predict dire consequences for low to middle income families, minorities and the elderly, if they do not obtain easy access to government provided health insurance. These sentiments are echoed in the Sunday homilies heard in Oakland diocese parishes as the faithful are called upon to heed the "preferential options for the poor." Parishioners are told not to remain indifferent to the "plight of half of the world's population" as one deacon, Chuck Palomares, announced from the pulpit of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Concord on September 31.

A group of parishioners from neighboring Concord churches took the homilies to heart and decided that residents of a nearby low-income neighborhood known as the Monument Corridor, a ten-square-mile area, would be better off with government-sponsored health care. The group learned about a 40-foot truck that had been renovated and turned into a mobile medical van equipped with examining cubicles, refrigerators for medicines, generators, and air conditioning that was sitting idle in the back of the Concord police station. Funds to purchase and equip the van had been provided by a $200,000 grant from the John Muir/Mt. Diablo hospitals Health Institute.

Working through an organization called the Contra Costa Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, which includes members of Concord Catholic churches, local public health officials were approached to help obtain licensing and get the van on the road. A notice about the van appeared in the Contra Costa Times on August 23. On alternating Fridays the van parks at one of two Monument Corridor elementary schools serving the students and residents of the area. The clinic is staffed through the county department of public health on a rotating basis by dental personnel, pediatric nurse practitioners, family nurse practitioners, financial service counselors, and community outreach workers. Though reports vary according to departmental spokesmen, in some cases whole classes of Monument Corridor elementary students are released from class, ten to 20 at a time, to attend the clinic.

On Tuesdays, the van parks at a local shopping center. There it serves a clientele which includes mothers with babies, homeless, uninsured, and legal and illegal immigrants, with a variety of free, taxpayer-funded services. Those health matters that are considered urgent or cannot be addressed on site are referred to other county health clinics or community-based, non-profit agencies. An agreement has been made with a local cab company to transport to county facilities anyone without a car needing immediate attention.

While some Concord Catholics feel they are being accountable for their less fortunate brothers and sisters, the director of the interfaith activist group, Don Stahlhut, admits that his group failed to research the full ramifications of the services for the residents of the Monument Corridor. Stahlhut said, "We did not research the health care services that would be given." The typical services provided by the state and county departments of public health include tax-funded family planning and abortions through Medi-Cal and other state- and federal-funded programs. These services to minors without parental consent or knowledge. Typically a family receives a blanket permission slip at the beginning of the school year, which allows their child to visit the van/clinic. There is no permission slip for any of the services provided at the clinic or for the referrals to other clinics. Further, federal law permits school clinics to use federal funds to distribute RU-486 "morning-after pills" to schoolchildren without parental consent. "It sounds like we should make an effort to talk with our people about this," Stahlhut said.

The van is authorized to refer clients to clinics for the following: family planning/sexually transmitted diseases for the purpose of obtaining birth control counseling, education, supplies, Depo Provera (abortion drug) injections, pap smears and pelvic exams, diagnosis & treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, confidential HIV counseling & screening, pregnancy testing, emergency contraception (abortion or morning after pills), and pill refills.

Who originated the idea for a van? "The county wanted access to people in this community," was the response from Juan Cruz, representing John Muir Hospital as coordinator for the Monument Corridor community project. According to a Concord city council member, some residents in the Monument area had been a constant source of complaints to the city council from local businesses and community agencies for some time. The van opened up a means of "accessing" these residents. Public schools require evidence of vaccinations before children can attend school. Parents bringing their children to the van for free shots must complete a form indicating their health care coverage. If they are uninsured they are given the opportunity to sign up with the Healthy Families or Healthy Start taxpayer-funded program, or some other. Several non-profit organizations are now warning people about the negative side effects of some shots, such as vaccination-induced autism.

Deacon Palomares brushed away concerns about the care provided. "These people needed health care, and our parishioners needed to exercise their compassion for the poor." Since the parish social justice committees got involved in the project, and the hospital partnership provided $200,000 in funds to purchase and equip the van, local government agencies have expanded their lists of clients, proving their demands for more state aid. The trade-off is that while local agencies get access to more tax dollars through an influx of client referrals, secular family planners dispense prescriptions and distribution of birth control pills, devices, and abortifacients, all without parental consent. Al Gaitmaitan of Contra Costa County Health Services, a nurse who supervises the activities of the van's workers, said that the van dispenses foam and condoms as well as make referrals to "other agencies." County employment rolls have also expanded with coordinators and managers for the van. Grant writers have been hired because the van needs a funding stream for maintenance and drivers. Even the local cab company got a contract for services.

Were the residents of the Monument Corridor ever consulted for health care they could have received if they are already signed up for welfare to work programs or Healthy Start? One is also eligible for these and more services when their income is at 250 percent of poverty. That is within the lower middle class range. The bishops of the United States recognize that opportunities for church and public cooperative efforts is a new and growing phenomenon. They have published a booklet, Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. It sets forth principles governing this cooperation instructing Catholics in what constitutes a licit and an illicit association. If a particular activity has an evil intent and certain parties cooperate knowingly with that intent, then it is an illicit association and morally wrong.

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