Free Health Screenings Offered at Co-op

In conjuction with its Arbor Day tree planting, Norcross Cooperative Ministry also held its free monthly health-screening day provided by Victory World Church in Norcross.

Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals from Victory checked a number of basic health needs that they do every month: vision, blood pressure, blood sugars, weight, vision, fitness and dental.

Adults and children ages 5 through 12 are welcome to the free services. The screenings are targeted toward the uninsured, but those with insurance are accepted, too.

Jeffrey Wright, a registered nurse who's also a ministry leader with Victory,  explained that they started administering the health screenings a year ago, and it just evolved into a monthly routine.

"We realized a lot of people didn't have insurance, so we decided to come in and screen to see what's going on," said Wright.

If the volunteers see something which prompts the patients to need further medical assistance, Wright added, the medical team refers them to a "good Samaritan" outside that the team has connections with.

And the church has saved lives through its free screenings. One man whom they saved had come into the screening with a infected leg that had become immensely swollen.

"He would have gone aseptic in another couple of days," Wright said. "He was desperate. He lived out of his car," Wright added, but the man had gotten accepted into truck driving school. "His only goal was to get some help so he could make it to school. We got him to the hospital, he got treated, he finished the program, and he's got his job and now he's on the road, driving. ... Those are the kinds of things we can do and impact here."

The team also has a pediatrician, social workers and an entire onsite vision team that is in the process of getting glasses to patients. Dental work is offered out of a dentist's office off Jimmy Carter Boulevard.

"A lot of people just want you to spend some time with them and to let you know what's going on with them," said Wright. "We enjoy it. We build so many relationships with the people around here."

And if a free health screening isn't enough, a healthy meal is also offered at the end of each consultation.

The church usually offers free health screenings on the second or third Saturday every month for two to three hours at the Norcross Co-op. For more information and to see when its next screening day is, check the Victory World Church website at victoryatl.com.