WATERBURY – Heavy rains drenched much of the state on the night before a new Malta House of Care mobile van was dedicated at Sacred Heart-Sagrado Corazon Parish on Aug. 23. By the time Archbishop Henry J. Mansell blessed the new van, however, only a light drizzle fell on the more than 50 people who attended.
"We do know that water and rain are the universal symbols of rebirth, renewal and regeneration," Archbishop Mansell said. "We speak of rebirth, renewal and regeneration with the establishment and blessing of the [new] Malta House of Care van."
Like the van that has operated in Hartford for nearly four years, the modified recreational vehicle – this one donated by ConnectiCare president and chief executive officer Mickey Hebert – is retrofitted to provide office and medical examination space for the primary medical care of people without health insurance. The Waterbury van is open to patients from 1-5 p.m. Tuesdays at the parish, 13 Wolcott St. Services include free physical exams, diabetes and blood pressure checks, prescription drug management, medical tests and referrals to other physicians as needed.
Eventually, three other Waterbury parishes are expected to host the van: St. Francis Xavier, 625 Baldwin St.; St. Margaret, 289 Willow St.; and St. Stanislaus Kostka, 86 East Farm St.
Dr. Paul Kelly, medical director of Malta House of Care-Waterbury, told the gathering that he rarely had to ask for volunteers for the project. He said a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury told him he had read about the project in The Catholic Transcript. "He walked up to me almost in a trot and was really juiced up about participating," Dr. Kelly said.
Attorney Peter G. Kelly, chairman of the Malta House of Care Foundation, said that since the first van became operational in Hartford in 2006, there have been more han 14,000 patient visits. "There are more patients than you’ll ever want to know about," he said. He thanked Archbishop Mansell for his commitment to the project, which is funded in part – both in Hartford and in Waterbury – through donations to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal.
He also thanked the many volunteers, medical and administrative, who have offered their time and services. "Without them, it just won’t happen," he said.
Archbishop Mansell said that more than 300,000 people in Connecticut have no primary health insurance. "Many of them who might go to hospitals are much more likely to go to the van," he said. He quoted Saint Rose of Lima, whose feast day it was: "Where tribulations abound, graces abound all the more."
He continued, "I look around and I see the graces that address the tremendous tribulations that people are facing, and you are those graces."
He related the experience of a woman who came to the van in Hartford. "She had cancer," he said, and she would need surgery. She couldn’t afford it. "And they said, ‘Well, the surgery will be for free.’" The woman is now in recovery, he said.
Another young woman came in the winter with her infant who was just a few days old, he said. "She was asked her address. She said, ‘My address is a car. I live in a car.’ They couldn’t believe it." They connected the woman with Catholic Charities, which took care of many of her needs, he said.
"These vans become something of an energizing experience," he said. "They enable so many other services that are available, at least from the Catholic Church. We are the largest provider of health care and social services, of education, after government, in the whole state," he said.
The work of the Malta House of Care vans is "fundamental to who we are as a Church," Archbishop Mansell said. "We know that health care is a scriptural call, a scriptural mandate."
Michael C. Culhane, a knight of Malta and chairman of the board of directors of Malta House of Care-Waterbury, said the Order of Malta began over 950 years ago. "Today, we have more than 12,000 knights and dames of Malta. They are in 54 countries and every continent in the world except Antarctica," he said.
Mr. Culhane said that about 15 doctors, 15 nurses and 20 non-medical people have applied for volunteer service with the Waterbury van.
Also on the board of the Malta House of Care-Waterbury Inc. are Gregory Oneglia and Leslie Swiderski. Waterbury Hospital donated two examination tables. St. Mary’s Hospital will do lab and diagnostic work.
For information or to volunteer, go to www.maltahouseofcare.org or call (860) 548-1593.
