Our mission is to provide access to health services for the underserved, primarily Hispanic Community, in Jefferson and Shelby Counties.

Brief Overview The Board of Cahaba Valley Health Care was formed in April 2000. We conducted a needs assessment among Latinos and discovered that the major needs of this community were vision care, dental care, and acute care. In August 2001 we began implementing vision screenings and providing glasses in local churches with Latino congregations. In 2002, CVHC began to explore ways to obtain necessary dental care for Latinos. We began offering dental triage as a parallel service to our vision screenings in November 2003 and established a dental care referral network.

Access: CVHC provides access to health services for the Hispanic Community in central Alabama. We target the Hispanic Community, but will provide services to anyone, regardless of race, age, sex, or religion.
We make our services more available to the Hispanic Community by addressing three barriers that Hispanics have regarding their ability to access needed health services. The three barriers are:
1. Access -- Many in the Hispanic Community find it difficult to access normal medical care because medical hours are not conducive to those with hourly jobs working 6-7 days a week. By conducting screenings in churches with Hispanic congregations on Sunday afternoons, we provide our services at times and places that are easily accessible to the Hispanic Community.
2. Cultural Sensitivity -- Many in the Hispanic Community find it imposing to deal with medical personnel that do not speak Spanish, and are not sensitive to their specific cultural issues. Approximately 70% of screening volunteers/staff speak Spanish and many are Hispanic. Those who do not speak Spanish have an interpreter at his/her station. All of our literature and charts are in Spanish and English.
3. Trust -- Many in the Hispanic Community --specifically those who are undocumented- find it difficult to trust the medical establishment. The Hispanic Community trusts us primarily because their churches trust us and they trust their churches.

Vision: In 2001 we began our services with vision care. To accomplish our mission, we formed collaborations with UAB School of Optometry, UAB Department of Ophthalmology, SightSavers, Lenscrafters, Vestavia Eye Care, John Sasser Opticians, Inverness Eye Care, and Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity (VOSH) including the Alabama chapter and the student chapter at UAB. Our vision screenings are performed by licensed optometrists, assisted by approximately 18 volunteers at each screening. We provide new reading glasses that have been donated or purchased. Because of our partnership with a local optician, we are able to fit patients at our screenings with custom made glasses. These glasses may be bifocals or address the problem of astigmatism and other eye conditions. Persons present for vision screening who need further care are referred for full exams and specialty services to the above mentioned collaborators, a member of our network of private practitioners, or to the CVHC Vision Referral Clinic. This clinic is located at the Retina Consultants of Alabama office at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital. The ophthalmologists of Retina Consultants generously donate their space for use by our volunteer ophthalmologists 4 times a year. At these clinics, our volunteer ophthalmologists perform complete eye examinations and eye care services. Children are referred to SightSavers, and are seen by Dr. Marcela Frazier, a bilingual optometrist at the UAB School of Optometry and a member of our Board. We began an educational program on occupational eye safety in 2006. This program includes tips on how to prevent eye injuries and each participant receives free safety glasses on site.

Nutrition: In 2006, we identified nutrition education as a basic need for our clients. We decided that our screenings should include information on reading food labels as well as information about the food pyramid. We began collaboration with Dr. Amanda Brown at the UAB School of Nutrition Sciences. We then enlisted Spain Park High School students to help create instructional material for the program. The CVHC nutrition program was presented at our screenings for the first time in January of 2007.

Dental: In 2002, CVHC began exploring ways to obtain necessary dental care for Latinos. While seeking collaborations, we found that the local dental community was also aware of this need. We enlisted the help and expertise of Birmingham District Dental Society, Birmingham Health Care, the Birmingham Chapter of the National Dental Association, and UAB School of Dentistry, and began offering dental screenings on December 7, 2003. Because we already do vision screenings at churches, dental triage occurs as a parallel and free service. This triage is performed by volunteer dentists licensed to practice in the state of Alabama. Upon identifying people in need of further services, we coordinate care by referral to the CVHC Dental Clinic, Birmingham Health Care’s Northside Dental Clinic, the UAB School of Dentistry, Jefferson County Health Department, Sarrell Dental Canter, or a member of our growing network of private dentists. We also provide interpreters at our referral clinics. Our referral clinics are held 15 times a year at our newly acquired dental trailer. This dental trailer was donated by The Jefferson County Health Department. We see an average of 10 patients 15 times a year at our Sunday afternoon dental clinics. At the clinics patients may receive fillings, X-rays, extractions, and cleanings. Performance of such services has been approved by the State Board of Dental Examiners. Patients who require services beyond the scope of the CVHC Dental Clinic are referred to the Birmingham Health Care Clinic, the UAB School of Dentistry, or private dentists. To date we have seen over 2,000 patients at our dental screenings and 648  (Aug22) of those have attended the CVHC referral clinic. Children are referred to UAB School of Dentistry or Jefferson County Department of Health.
We have developed a Dental Hygiene Education Program for both children and adults. The purpose of this project is to provide our patients, primarily Hispanic children, dental health education programs in conjunction with preventive programs. Our oral health and nutrition education materials are designed for children, parents, caregivers and/or child care professionals. Our dental health education is conducted at schools, health fairs, churches and social service agencies. Through these dental hygiene courses, we provide instruction in the proper use of oral care products, and provide patients with these products.

This presentation is made to all of our screening attendees. This presentation includes colorful and useful instruction in brushing, flossing and dental nutrition. After this, patients receive a toothbrush, toothpaste, egg timer, and floss. Egg timers take 3 minutes to fully drain, which indicates how long one should brush his/her teeth. We also provide information on baby bottle tooth decay. Our volunteer educators use Max, a horse puppet with large teeth, to enhance the education component. One of our bi-lingual volunteers, Carol Fite, is a professional puppeteer and operates Max, as well as her personal, Hispanic puppet named Luisa. Max and Luisa have some serious conversations!

New Services for 2008:

1. High Blood Pressure: We launched our high blood pressure segment in June 2008. We measure the blood pressure of patients at the screening and refer those with high blood pressure to the appropriate resource.

2. Extraction Clinics: Partnering with volunteer oral surgeons from UAB, we will conduct five 2008 extraction clinics at our dental trailer (7 in 2009). This clinic will see an average of 12 patients per clinic for a total of 84 patients annually.

3. Dental Hygiene Clinics: Partnering with Wallace State Community College, we will conduct 9 annual dental hygiene clinics at our dental trailer located in Shelby County. These clinics will be staffed by dental hygiene students. These services have been approved by The State Board of Dental Examiners. We will see an average of 6 patients per clinic for a total of 54 patients annually.

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Who we serve and how many we reach each year

We serve Jefferson and Shelby County Residents. We primarily serve Hispanics, but will see anyone regardless of race, age, sex, or religion. In 2007, we served approximately 900 patients in our screenings, vision clinics, dental clinics, and health fairs. 

 

Our measurable objectives for 2008 are:

1.         Provide non-invasive dental and vision examinations for 650 patients


2.         Serve 150 patients at our dental referral clinics


3.         Serve 70 patients at our vision referral clinics


4.         Provide custom fitted glasses for 70 people


5.         Provide vision safety education and free safety goggles for 280 patients


6.         Provide nutrition education for 490 patients


7.         Provide blood pressure examinations for 180 patients (560 in 2009)


8.         Serve 60 patients in our dental extraction clinics (84 in 2009)


9.         Provide 18 patients with dental hygiene cleanings (54 in 2009)


10.       Provide dental education for 900 patients, as well as provide them with free toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss (we provide this service to 490 patients at our screenings and to approximately 410 at health fairs)

 
 The uniqueness of Cahaba Valley Health Care

1.                  We have only 4 paid employees. Our screenings and follow up clinics are otherwise staffed by volunteer dentists, dental hygienists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, Spanish students, and other community volunteers. We also have volunteers from advanced Spanish classes at local universities, high school students, dental students, and optometry students. 

2.                  We collaborate with: UAB School of Optometry, UAB School of Dentistry, John Sasser Opticians, Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, SightSavers of Alabama, Birmingham District Dental Society, The National Dental Association, Birmingham Health Care, Cooper Green Hospital, M-Power Ministries Medical Clinic, churches, Lenscrafters, Vestavia Eye Care, and Inverness Eye Care.

3.                  We receive referrals from M-Power, HICA, Cooper Green Hospital, schools, churches, and individuals

 

4.                  Our screenings are held at times and places that are accessible to the Hispanic population—on Sunday afternoons at local churches. They are also culturally sensitive, with at least one Spanish speaker at every station, and we serve individuals without regard to ability to pay or immigration status. We publicize screenings on our web site, through radio announcements, at churches, and through ESL classes. Hispanic ministers also distribute flyers. CVHC conducts screenings at Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Christian, Baptist, Episcopal, and non-denominational churches.

 
 
Board of Directors:

  1. Lyn Cook – President – BancorpSouth - Branch Manager 
  2. Dr. Lynda Jentsch— Vice President—Samford University – Spanish Professor
  3. Dr. Marcela  Frazier—Secretary - UAB School of Optometry—Optometrist
  4. Nancy Carlisle - Treasurer  – BellSouth - Retired
  5. Dr. Ted Evans—VA Medical Center – Dentist - Retired
  6. Antonio Carballo—Mantissa Corporation—Senior Software Developer
  7. John Beard—Alacare Home Health and Hospice - President
  8. Janice Hanson—Glenwood, Inc.— Director of Clinical Programs
  9. Carlos Torres-Sanchez – Jefferson County Department of Health – Program Manager
  10. Carlos Gomez – First Baptist Church of Center Point – Pastor
  11. Dr. Bethany Martinez – VA Medical Center - Optometrist
  12. John Paul Rhodes – Bellsouth - Retired
  13. Dr. Belinda Waldo – UAB School of Dentistry – Dentist
  14. Alex Smith –Southern Company - Engineer
  15. Liliana Navarette – UAB School of Health Professions - Credentialed Course Instructor
  16. Susan Davenport – Trinity Medical Center - Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
  17. Martha Black – Jefferson County Department of Health - Public Health Language Worker
  18. Dr. John Essinger - Vestavia Eye Care -  Optometrist
  19. Carolyn Crocker – Samford University – Administrative Director of the Language Technology Center
  20. Dr. Patti Fuhr – Optometrist – VA Medical Services
  21. Dr. Marsha Sturdevant – Pediatrician – Department of UAB Pediatrics

Edwina Taylor – Ex Officio – Executive Director – Nurse Practitioner