VALUE OF PREVENTION

Four days a week, The Family Van makes its rounds through Boston neighborhoods, stopping at each designated site for three hours as patients enter the blue-cushioned compartment that serves as a mobile waiting room.

Behind sliding wooden doors, the staff begin patient check-ups by taking blood pressures and patient histories. Patients who wish to discuss more sensitive health concerns such as pregnancy or HIV test results are taken to a private room in the back of the van.

“The van creates a culture of wellness,” Bennet says. “People can come in without being judged for their illness.”

Manager of Direct Service Rainelle Walker-White stresses that the staff of The Family Van strive to listen to their patients as well as treat them.

“People come in, and we share and spend as much time as we can with them,” Walker-

White says. “This isn’t a doctor’s office. We are just what this neighborhood needs.”

Despite The Family Van’s emphasis on preventative measures and healthy lifestyle choices, Bennet says that the patient population consists primarily of minorities and low-income groups who do not have easy access to healthy foods.

McDonald’s golden arches are a common sight in these neighborhoods, and Bennet says thatthe availability of cheap, fried foods likely hinders efforts to lead healthier lives.

“One of the big efforts is to access fresh fruits and vegetables,” Bennet says. “But when they don’t have a car and the neighborhood is full of fast-food restaurants, you are really fighting an uphill battle.”

THE REGULARS

Miller was so pleased with The Family Van’s efforts to help him manage his hypertension that he encouraged a good friend living in the area to come with him on his weekly visits.

“We always call one another, and we always come,” Miller says. “Sometimes he picks me up by the hospital where I’m staying. Sometimes he calls me and both of us come.”

In Dorchester’s Codman Square, the van’s visitors tend to be elderly patients diagnosed with chronic conditions, who, without The Family Van’s services, would not be able to effectively manage their multiple illnesses, Bennet says.

After over a year since Family Van had to scale back on services and staff due to funding shortages, Bennet says that The Family Van was able to hire back some of its staff to full-time positions this January.