The Watermark Health Mobile Clinic was officially deployed to serve the South Dallas community for the first time in early March of 2021. But this wasn’t the first time Watermark Health provided healthcare needs in the area.
In August of 2020, a Pop-Up testing site was hosted weekly at Watermark’s South Dallas Campus in the parking lot of the Pearl C Anderson building. Even before renovations were complete, the Watermark Health team was able to conduct drive through testing. This eventually developed into Pop-Up Clinics around the corner at the YMCA Park South, and ultimately when the Mobile Clinic was complete in spring of 2021, it was parked three days a week at the South Dallas Campus. All of this in the middle of a zip code ripe with needs.
Nurse Practitioner Ese Nosakhare has been in the thick of this zip code with Watermark Health since late 2020.
“Serving here has been eye opening and a learning experience” Nosakhare shared. I have witnessed a clear lack of trust in the healthcare system. Patients still reference the Tuskeegee experiment with me as I educate about the importance of vaccines.”
“From generations worth of lack of access to healthcare, it isn’t viewed as a priority. It is simply what to do in an emergency; if there isn’t a broken bone or weeks of not feeling well, no need to go.”
Nosakhare has made it a priority to educate as much as possible on the importance of preventative care, helping to explain how the healthcare system works and connect patients to their needed resources.
“I do my best to make a patient feel like they are family. I’ve seen this help bring down walls. We let them know that they are loved and cared for, beyond medicine. This looks different than what they’ve experienced before.”
The Mobile Clinic is committed to investing in South Dallas for the long term, working alongside local campus leadership and area community leaders. In August 2021, they partnered with Lincoln High School to host a School Physical Day, providing school physicals for students as they began sports and extracurricular activities for the year. Later in the fall, the Mobile Clinic was present for Watermark South Dallas’ first Fall Festival, both helping to serve at bounce houses and kid friendly activities, while also providing free blood pressure checks and flu shots. The Mobile Clinic also is launching a monthly initiative to conduct hypertension clinics once a month in partnership with the South Dallas Campus weekly service.
“It has been a major win to watch the Mobile Clinic serve,” conveys Marvin Walker, Watermark’s South Dallas Campus Pastor. “God’s work through the Mobile Clinic has been foundational to helping build relationships with the South Dallas community members.”
Mobile Clinic Director Anthony Anderson shares that the mobile team anticipates continuing to lean on thought leaders and ministry partners in the area as they find more ways to serve the community in 2022.
“Any time we’re given the opportunity to enter a new community we lean on the expertise of local partners and leaders. This past year has been a privilege to learn about the unique ways we can serve our neighbors in South Dallas. We’ve visited with other leaders in the community, worked on building meaningful partnerships in the area, and surveyed the community on specific needs they’d like to see met. We’d love for those who are passionate about the ministry of Watermark Health to pray with us as we pursue serving this neighborhood in meaningful ways.”
If you would like to help grow opportunities for future initiatives for Watermark Health in South Dallas, invest in the mission of Watermark Health.
Upcoming events & service opportunities:
Purchasing school supplies for School Physical Days and delivering them to Watermark Urgent Care by 7/23
Attending the North Dallas Neighborhood Outreach Day on 7/23 where you'd be paired by with a current WMH volunteer to pass out flyers for the clinic.
Serve as a greeter, lobby host, games/giveaway table host at one of our School Physical Days (7/30 or 8/13)
Serving WMH as an administrative, creative, or technical skill volunteer.
Learn more about joining ClinicFam and serve onsite in the clinic 2x a month as a Front Desk, Nurse/Tech, Provider, or Pastoral Care Volunteer.