Wellness becomes goal of Parker Family Health Center Focus on preventive care, education for the uninsured BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer The Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank provides free treatment to people who have no medical insurance. RED BANK - - After seven years, the focus of the Parker Family Health Center is shifting from solely providing medical care to the uninsured to include programs centered on disease prevention and education. "A 17-year-old who wanted to play football had very high blood pressure and it was picked up on routine screening here," said Parker Family Heath Center Board of Directors President Dr. Eugene Cheslock. "This young man already had a heart enlargement from his high blood pressure and the physician picked it up. We got consultations with specialists, he had a cardiogram done," said Cheslock, a founder of the Parker Center. "The young man is now on medication and diet and is very motivated to go to college playing football and his blood pressure has been normalized. "Big problems have been prevented obviously and hopefully this young man ... will lead a normal life," said Cheslock of the health care the teen received at the clinic. "I think that's a wonderful example of the Parker in action." Pre-employment and school physicals are two of the many services offered at the Parker Family Health Center located on Shrewsbury Avenue on the west side of Red Bank. Other services include immunizations, children's dental screenings, women's health care, diabetes management, diagnostic testing, hypertension clinic, vision screening and specialty services such as allergy treatment, neurology, orthopedics, pediatrics, dermatology, and more. The Parker Center is one of three free clinics in Monmouth County and was started out of a trailer in July 2000. "The Parker Family Health Center is a free health care facility where people without medical insurance or the ability to pay can be cared for with dignity and confidentiality," according to a clinic brochure. In 2006, approximately 10,000 patients visited the center, where patient visits average 45 to 50 per day and 45,000 patients have received medical care in the seven years since it opened. Some 800-1,000 of those seen each year are children. The Parker Center is staffed by approximately 100 medical professionals who cycle in and out. Volunteers log some 10,000 hours a year of donated services, according to Parker Center officials. The plan is to move the mission of the Parker Center to prevention education and averting disease instead of treating disease, according Cheslock. "It may not seem very exciting talking about an obesity program or managing people's diabetes but that actually does more to keep people healthy and save lives than when you're intervening in the emergency room," said the clinic's newly named Medical Director Dr. Roy Carman. "So preventing all of that makes people have healthier lives. And this is what we are about, having people who otherwise couldn't obtain this in our segment of society. These are people who can now have the same access that others in this area already enjoy." The center treats those who have no insurance and the income standard is generally under 250 percent of the federal poverty line, but patients have reported a much lower percentage, according to Anne Torre, a consultant for the center. In 2006, for a family of four, 97 percent of those patients reported incomes of under $24,550, according to information provided by the center. Carman, a longtime volunteer physician, became the medical director at the Parker Center this summer and brought with him a connection to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). This connection includes UMDNJ medical students shadowing Parker physicians, according to Carman. "People say thank you here and actually mean it so it's very rewarding, and I get a lot more positive feedback working in this setting than I do sometimes at my private practice where so much is expected," said Carman. Another new program this year is the childhood obesity program, which is funded by the Community Foundation of Monmouth County. The program focuses on educating children and taking them shopping for healthy alternatives to their more fattening favorites, as well as teaching them about exercise and providing them with a six-month YMCA membership. "The beauty of the Parker to me is this coming together of people from all walks of life who feel health care is vital, no matter who you might be, to you carrying on your daily life," said Cheslock. The Parker Center, which has a budget of $750,000, was founded to carry on the work of Dr. James Parker Jr. and his father, Dr. James Parker Sr., who treated patients on the west side. The Center still sees their patients and many others, with 40 percent of patients coming from Red Bank, and the other 60 percent from all over Monmouth County, according to Parker Center officials. Funding for the center comes from private donations, including patients, area churches, and grants. "When you walk in the door, you feel the hearts of everyone who works here," said Shirley Parker, widow of Dr. James Parker Jr. "It is beautiful, gorgeous!" The Parker Center Web site is www.ParkerFamilyHealthCenter.org.