It wasn’t immediately clear whether 7-month-old José Lina’s grin resulted from overwhelming joy, or his desire to show off two little teeth, recent additions to his otherwise naked gums.
Whichever the case, nurse Jan Manis was on a mission that would wipe that smile off José’s face.
Manis, a Kaiser Permanente nurse, walked into an exam room at Denver’s InnerCity Health Center Monday carrying not one, but three needles, and headed toward Jose – who smiled up at her, as trusting as he was clueless.
He didn’t appreciate it, but José’s bundle of vaccines came courtesy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., by way of Kaiser Permanente.
For the third year, about 30 doctors, dozens of nurses and 300 other volunteers from the Colorado HMO offered free medical care, health screenings, meals and hygiene kits throughout the Denver area.
It was, according to Kaiser spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery, an effort to honor King by “answering his call to serve.”
She estimated the cost of care delivered at $20,000.
Kaiser staff expected to serve 1,000 meals at the Volunteers of America dining room Monday and perform dozens of mammograms and vision screenings. At InnerCity alone, nearly 100 patients were expected.
About 20 were preschoolers coming from the Curtis Park Community Center.
Their parents were invited, said Amy Kamzler of the community center’s early learning program. But for most, Monday was not a holiday – which is one of the reasons the offer of MLK day care was so appealing, Kamzler said.
“They were pretty happy about it. And they were happy they didn’t have to try and get time off from work for a doctor visit,” she said.
José’s mom, Amanda Lina, said she heard about the day of free care from a friend who works as a nurse sometimes at InnerCity. So Lina brought not only Jose, but her mother-in-law and her father-in-law, who has diabetes.
On normal days, the staff of the clinic at 3405 Downing St. provides low-cost and Medicaid care.
Lina said she gets health insurance through her job at Home Depot. But to add her husband and three kids “is way too expensive. It would take pretty much my whole paycheck,” she said.
Staff writer Karen Augé can be reached at (303) 954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com.
