Local Lions Clubs raising money for mobile health screening bus
Aug. 14—More than 65 Lions and Leo Clubs in the Western Maryland district are raising money for a large commuter bus to be used to provide free vision, hearing, blood pressure and diabetes screenings during community gatherings.
The mobile screening unit will cost $240,000, including the cost of equipment, according to Barbara Myers, president of the Frederick Fusion Lions Club.
Myers said the local Lions district, which encompasses Allegany, Garrett, Washington, Frederick, and Carroll counties, has raised about half of that amount.
The clubs are waiting to receive additional grant funding from Lions Clubs International, a service organization with tens of thousands of thousands of chapters around the world.
Meyers said that maintaining the mobile screening unit for Western Maryland will cost $10,000 to $15,000 per year. The local Lions Clubs hope to find a place to store the bus at no charge.
The clubs are working with Frederick Community College and Frostburg State University to recruit students in the nursing and pre-med programs to work in the mobile screening unit as volunteers.
According to Myers, the fully equipped mobile screening unit could serve 24 to 48 people each hour. Local Lions Clubs could reserve the bus for events on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The bus will deliver crucial health interventions to under-resourced communities throughout the region. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 6% of people under age 65 in Frederick County lack health insurance.
If all goes according to plan, the mobile health screening unit will be operating in the Lions district for Western Maryland by the spring of 2024.
Upcoming fundraiser
The local Lions district is organizing a fundraiser for the mobile health screening unit on Thursday.
People who visit a participating Roy Rogers Restaurant in Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland, Thurmont, Brunswick, Westminster or Eldersburg between 5 and 8 p.m. on Thursday can choose to contribute 25% of the profits from their meal to the Lions.
The local Lions will also put out donation jars for individuals who wish to give additional money toward the cause.
"We are very grateful to Jim and Peter Plamondon for allowing us to do this," Myers said during an interview with The Frederick News-Post last week, referring to the family that runs local Roy Rogers Restaurants. "My goal with this fundraiser is to make it an annual event."
