ST. ANNA'S MEDICAL MISSION
St Anna's Medical Mission is a mobile unit that rotates through designated neighborhoods in and around New Orleans providing holistic healthcare through a volunteer doctor, nurse, social worker and non-medical volunteers, both from in the city and out-of-state. It was founded with the goal of being responsive to the evolving needs of New Orleanians and an important link to rebuilding access to quality healthcare.
Many returning to the New Orleans area have healthcare coverage and access problems due to the closure of the Charity Healthcare system, the displacement of doctors and competing demands. Due to legal concerns, thousands of immigrant recovery workers do not visit traditional healthcare providers. With the competing demands of current life in New Orleans and the difficulty finding healthcare, people tend to prioritize their health last. By taking mobile health services to people in their own communities, we reach a population otherwise without access to healthcare because of financial or transportation constraints. Our consistent presence in their communities instills hope, trust and compassion for people trying to rebuild and recover, and enhances healthcare access for people in need.
H.A.R.P.
St. Anna's Episcopal Church has been named one of only four Health & Resilience Centers in New Orleans by REACHNOLA (www.reachnola.org), a community-academic partnership working to increase access to and quality of healthcare in the Greater New Orleans area. The goal of this project is to focus on mental health issues and other health issues of community concern through the use of culturally acceptable programs.
St. Anna's H.A.R.P. will work to ensure that the community we serve has a voice in the programs we support through sharing of ideas, educating us about community needs and assets and by direct involvement in program development. By working with other organizations that have similar goals, we will spread our programs to other locations and expand by sharing resources.
