Photo By Tech. Sgt. Sarah McClanahan | David Meinschein, Ballard Memorial High School assistant superintendent, gives a...... read more read more
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The moment you step foot in Ballard Memorial High School in Barlow, Kentucky, there’s one thing you will notice right away: the immense appreciation for armed forces. As you walk through the school, brightly colored depictions of the B-17 bomber aircraft, the school’s mascot, can be seen displayed everywhere on the walls, lockers, floors, and even in the student art posted around the building. Speaking to any student, you’ll learn they endearingly call themselves the “Bomb Squad” and will find the local community has a significant veteran population, explains David Meinschein, the school’s assistant superintendent.
David Meinschein is a veteran himself and served a total of ten years in the Army as an enlisted tanker and then a logistics officer. The school and community’s proud display of appreciation and connection to the military inspired David Meinschein to move himself and his family seven hours away from a much larger school to the Barlow school of only around 400 students.
However, the community of Barlow has suffered severe economic hardship following the loss of their two largest employers, a uranium enrichment plant and papermill, and with that loss comes financial strain on critical needs such as healthcare, explains David Meinschein.
“We are located 30 minutes away from two hospitals,” said David Meinschein. “In an area that doesn’t have transportation, you may be limited to the smaller clinics in this area and even then people don’t seek out treatment necessarily.”
So when a joint force of more than 50 members from active and reserve components of the Air Force and Navy set up a no-cost, temporary healthcare clinic in the high school for the local community as part of the DAEOC Tri-State Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) 2019 mission, the effort does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. As a memorial school, Ballard serves as a dedication to members of the community who paid the ultimate sacrifice as military members. So for the students, faculty and members of the community, hosting this IRT at the high school is very meaningful to them.
This IRT mission serves as valuable hands-on training for medical and support personnel to hone their professional skills and maintain mission readiness while providing healthcare services to the local community at no-cost.
The healthcare clinic is available to anyone of the public, with no appointment or insurance required, and is scheduled to be open from June 14 to June 22. The location in Barlow is one of three sites offering medical, dental and vision services such as physicals, disease screenings, tooth extractions or fillings, glasses prescriptions, and psychological services.
But the impact of the IRT mission and healthcare clinic goes beyond providing essential medical services. It also presents the ability to establish lasting and beneficial partnerships with the local community.
While Barlow is a military-friendly community, it isn’t everyday community members have the opportunity to watch service members in action or work hand-in-hand with them.
“When people see you doing whatever your role is, they have a different outlook,” said David Meinschein. “They remember, there’s a human tied behind that pen, those dental tools, that weapon. They are people just like us doing those jobs.”
Sara Meinschein, a 2016 Ballard Memorial High School graduate and the daughter of David Meinschein, was able to take advantage of this opportunity for community partnership by shadowing the medical technicians and doctors working in the IRT health clinic.
For a few hours Sara Meinschein, who is a registered nurse applicant, was able to observe and assist in triage procedures to check vital signs and determine the order of patient care. By observing medical provider and patient interactions, she was able to receive hands-on experience that will be integral as a registered nurse.
“I was very excited to have this opportunity,” exclaimed Sara Meinschein. “As someone who is just starting their nursing career, it was interesting to go and see how different medical problems can have side effects. It was beneficial to talk with the doctors and nurses to hear about the different fields they work in. Even communicating with patients was a good opportunity for me to learn and grow.”
The impact of a mission like this doesn’t stop at just providing essential healthcare to those who may need it. This mission provides opportunities for community engagement and the ability to build lasting relationships between service members and the locals of Barlow and beyond.
“What we do for our kids, our community, our country is important,” said David Meinschein. “So for my [own] kids to be able to watch what happens or my students to come see you in action, that’s awesome. I think this will be something people talk about for years.”
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2019 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 328319 |
| Location: | BARLOW, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Impact Beyond Medicine - IRT Promotes Community Engagement, by TSgt Sarah McClanahan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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