Say what?!?!

For years my fam volunteered on Turkey day to feed the homeless at church on the south side of town. So last year, I used the fact that hundreds of underserved people would be at the same place and I organized a medical screening for them on Thanksgiving. About 8 other students and a doc volunteered about 4 hours in the morning to do HTN screening, listen to heart & lungs, diabetes screening and a few depression screenings. If something abnormal came up, we handed out a flyer to get people to go to one of the free clinics in town. Overall, it was a good success.

This year I was ready to pick it up----I wanted to offer the rapid HIV tests & TB tests, so a doctor in my college recommended the health dept. I called them today. And I am livid at how it all went down.....

"Hello! My name is Samantha and I am a 3rd year medical student at the U of A. Last year I started up a homeless screening clinic and I wanted to expand it to include the rapid oral HIV screening tests. It would be about 3 hours in the morning of Thanksgiving day. I was told you would be the person to call to help."

----Well, we couldn't do it on Thanksgiving day. Could you do it the day after?

"Unfortunately, no. Thats when the potential patients would be there, and not all med students get the Friday after Thanksgiving off. Is Thursday a bad day?"

----- No. Its just that we can't pay people time and half for a holiday since we're county.

"Well this would be more of a volunteer thing. Last year, the doctor and the medical students volunteered their time."

-----Thanksgiving is a family day. And we wouldn't get paid time & a half.

......
The conversation continued like that. I asked for another organization in town that may help, but I was to make sure to tell them that the health dept said they didn't have to work on Thanksgiving.

So basically, they are interested about getting paid and not about screening one of the highest populations of HIV. What the heck is that about?!?

PS little do they know that when i get fired up about this kind of thing, i get even more determined. There WILL be rapid HIV screening on thanksgiving day!