On the first Friday morning of every month, Patchwork’s Sozo Health Ministry staff take their services on the road. That’s when you’ll find them set up at Central Library in downtown Evansville.
Just like they do at Patchwork, John, Katie, and Mary make themselves available to take blood pressures, answer folks’ questions, listen to health concerns, and provide valuable information to guests. Their monthly visits to Central Library have been going on since early in 2018 (minus some time because of the pandemic).
John and Katie maximize on their roles in traditional and complementary medicine. John provides handouts on common medical issues like high blood pressure and diabetes while Katie has created alternative pamphlets on better sleep, dealing with bad stress, and medicinal uses for plants found in our area. When providing information, John or Katie listen to each guest and their needs, ask the person about what they’ve tried in the past, and discuss the information contained in the pamphlets they provide. Sometimes, the best answer will be information from both John and Katie, as was the case for one man who discovered his blood pressure was elevated. The man said he had been sleeping poorly, which can have an effect on blood pressure. John talked to the man about high blood pressure and following up with his doctor while Katie talked about how to improve his sleep in order to begin making changes immediately.
Often, it’s a question about a new diagnosis for some friendly, low-key medical professionals who are available to chat. Or it’s a sneaking suspicion that someone’s blood pressure is higher than it should be. Occasionally, it will be an opportunity for our staff to identify a very serious situation such as a possible cardiac event or pneumonia that might have gone unaddressed otherwise. In these instances, our staff work with the guest to address the emergency—including driving the person to an ER for diagnosis and treatment if the guest chooses.
Just as we have regulars among our Patchwork guests, there are regulars among the Friday health ministry guests. One is a man who John first met a few years ago when the man walked by and happened to get his blood pressure checked. To the man’s surprise, it was elevated to the point that John urged him to quickly follow up with his doctor. The man hadn’t been to his doctor for a long time, but he made an appointment to address his blood pressure and while he was at the doctor he arranged for some overdue screenings that identified other health concerns before they became bigger problems. Now the man regularly checks in with the Sozo Health Ministry team, and their blood pressure checks have become part of his health monitoring.
For this man and others, access to caring health professionals in a relaxed community setting can make a difference. Our Sozo Health Ministry team is glad to provide this service in a setting beyond Patchwork’s walls.