LUMBERTON — On Saturday Eddie Reid sat at a table at the Robeson Church and Community Center anxiously awaiting the results from a glucose test.
Reid is a diabetic and doesn’t often get to see a doctor because of the expense.
But thanks to a medical and dental clinic held Saturday at the center, he and 28 others got the medical care they needed free of charge.
“I think this event is great,” said Reid after learning his blood sugar levels were normal. “I just wish this was a week-long event so more people could take advantage of it. So many people don’t have health insurance. There are people in Robeson County who are walking time bombs. There just seems to be no help and people are really sick.”
Reaching that population was the aim of the four-hour clinic, which provided blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, tooth extractions, dental cleanings and goodie bags filled with hygiene products, note pads, pens and pencils — offered for free with the help of donations.
Darlene Jacobs, executive director of the Robeson Church and Community Center, said that this was the first time that the iy had offered dental care and cleanings. The West Fifth Street facility also operates a food pantry and home store and offers emergency assistance with utilities, rent, medication and personal items.
“First Baptist Church in Lumberton offered to pay for the dental bus and we wrote other grants and received donations from the community. I thought we were going to have some more medical professionals, but hopefully we will have more in the future,” Jacobs said.
Twenty-five people were turned away from the clinic because there was not another dental hygienist available to clean teeth.
Tooth extractions were performed by Dr. Colin Osborne and Glenda Osborne, and tooth cleanings were performed by April Locklear, a dentist with Patel, Scott and Yee Dentistry in Lumberton. Blood pressure and glucose screenings were done by certified nurses from the Lumberton and Pembroke areas.
According to April Locklear, oral health affects the whole body; good dental hygiene can add years to a diligent floss user’s life span, she said.
“Some studies show that bacteria from the mouth can travel through the body,” she said. “For patients to be under-served in our community with so many dental professionals is just sad.”
Debbie Locklear, a nursing professor at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, said that the clinic was a great opportunity to identify the medical needs of those in need in Robeson County and hopes the clinic can be offered more frequently.
“Many people around here have diabetes,” she said. “If we identify people at the clinic who have something like that, we can try to find them a doctor to follow up with.”
Juanita Oxendine came for the screenings and was the last person to receive a dental cleaning. She said there is a big need in the county for free medical attention because many people can’t pay for a visit to the doctor.
According to County Health Rankings, a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin, 25 percent of Robeson County adults said they could not see a doctor in the past 12 months because of the cost, compared with the statewide average of 17 percent. About 34 percent of Robeson County adults are uninsured, according to the rankings.
“There could be something going on in some of these people and they don’t even know it,” said Peggy Locklear, who has volunteered at the center for 10 years. “I think more people should support the Church and Community Center so we can do this more.”
Jacobs, however, was happy with the day.
“We are really pleased with the support and the turn-out,” Jacobs said. “It’s an outcry. It shows that there is a great need for this in the county.”
