Dr. Mark Roby, Director of Nursing for the Department of Health in Monroe County, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the department’s services.
The Gato Building in Key West is open again after some remediation.
Dr. Roby said, “We are very happy to be back. So yes, today is our first day back in the building. I just want to make sure everyone’s clear it’s just the health department that’s back in the building. Other county services are still located throughout the county as work continues on the other side of the building from the DOH offices. Not all of us are back. Vital Statistics is still located at the Lester building. They should be there until Thursday, so we’re hoping to have them back in the Gato Building on January 23. WIC and Healthy Start, they’re going to remain at Bernstein Park for a little bit longer. So if anyone needs services for WIC or Healthy Start, please contact their number, which is 305-676-3852. They are out at Bernstein Park on Stock Island for now.”
The Tuga Clinic at College of the Florida Keys is also open.
Dr. Roby said, “Rural Health is out there on Mondays and Thursdays with their mobile unit. They do dental services on Monday, primary care on Thursdays, and then the health department, we’re there on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and people can call our main number to schedule an appointment there. So we’re happy to be there. We’re happy to have that clinic. Also, I just want to take a moment to thank the College of the Florida Keys for being gracious hosts while we were displaced out of the Gato Building.”
The Refugee Health Program is also being administered by Monroe County Department of Health.
Dr. Roby said, “The Refugee Health Program, actually, it’s been around for a very long time. It was created by the Refugee Act of 1980. It is a federal program, and that money is actually filtered down to the state and Florida’s Refugee Health Program is administered by the Department of Children and Families. So they work with immigration as refugees are identified that are coming to Florida. DCF is able to track those refugees that are coming in. We are able to see which refugees are assigned to come to Monroe County or in Monroe County, and we do make every effort to try and reach out to them so that they can take part of this program. It is federally funded. It provides a health assessment for refugees, as well as vaccinations, free of cost to them. The challenge is they only have 90 days to get this done, and that’s 90 days of arrival into the country. So you can imagine, sometimes they get pushed up on a time frame. It’s also just getting them to trust, to come and see us, to identify themselves. So we do offer this program at all three of our locations.”
The Refugee Health Program has culturally sensitive health services.
Dr. Roby said, “What we found is it seems to be a larger percentage of refugees that are Haitian Creole are in Key West, and we see more Spanish speaking refugees in the Middle and Upper Keys. So at the health department, we’ve been very strategic in that we’ve hired staff who speak Haitian Creole as well as Spanish at all locations, but primarily the Haitian Creole down in Key West. We also do have a language line service that is available to us that we can use, that can translate all sorts of different languages. We also have seen refugees coming from Ukraine and some other countries over in that area as well. So the language line is a great resource to ensure that we’re being able to communicate appropriately, and again, providing that culturally sensitive care to them, yeah. We really want them to have a positive encounter with us when they hit our doorstep, so that they’re more likely to return. It’s a great benefit to them. We’re able to identify any health issues that they may need that can sometimes be treated really quickly. We also draw a lot of blood for them on their first visit, really just to help us determine if they need any vaccinations, what vaccinations they’re still due, what diseases they may have immunity to, just from vaccination in their home country, so it is a really great program for them. The whole goal really is to make sure they’re as healthy as possible here, and also to prevent the spread of communicable diseases throughout the country or throughout the community.”
The Refugee Health paperwork will need to be submitted to make sure patients qualify.
Dr. Roby said, “There is specific paperwork that they do have to supply to us in order for us to deem them eligible for the services. So they can do that at any one of our sites. Again, at the Gato Building, if they show up at the Tuga Clinic, we can take it there as well and then, of course, the Ruth Ivan Center in Marathon, which is right next to Fisherman’s Hospital and then at the Roth building in Tavernier, which is near the new county building up that way. They can bring it by anytime. They can also call if they have questions. They can call us at our main number 305-293-7500. If they fall outside of that 90 day window, don’t hesitate to come in. We can still do the services. It’s just not going to be provided totally free of cost through the federal program. So it will be provided using our normal sliding scale that we do for all of our clients. We’re here for everyone. We’re back at the Gato Building. We’re happy to be there. I do just remind the public that, again, it is just the Department of Health that has reoccupied the Gato Building in Key West. And if you do come to our clinic there, please just pay attention. There is still some work being done on the other side. So just be cautious and pay attention to the signs and we’ll make sure we route you to keep you safe.”
For more information, click here: https://monroe.floridahealth.gov/