CHAPTER 5
Tzu Chi USA Mobile Clinics
Southern California
Written by Jennifer Chien
Translated by H.B. Qin
Published #72 | Spring 2024 Issue
A dentist on Tzu Chi USA’s medical team interacts with a young patient at a Dental Mobile Clinic service event. Currently, three Tzu Chi Mobile Clinics are stationed in Los Angeles to protect the health of disadvantaged families in Southern California, providing free vision care, dental care, or prostate cancer screening services. Photo/Hanrong Zhao
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Marcos Loya, a Los Angeles-based musician who had experienced a period of homelessness due to setbacks in his career, came to the Foothill Unity Center’s parking lot in 2018 to pick up food for the following week. Coincidentally, on that day, a Tzu Chi Vision Mobile Clinic was stationed there, offering free vision checks and prescription eyeglasses for those in need in the community. Loya, wearing clean but worn-out clothes, politely asked a volunteer at the registration table, “Can you help people get glasses for free?” Upon receiving an affirmative response, he quickly filled out his medical history, and a volunteer guided Loya into the clinic to be examined by optometrist Dr. Lina Lin.
Let Me Sing for You
While the Tzu Chi Vision Mobile Clinic staff tested Marcos Loya’s eyesight and he waited for his prescription glasses, Loya and Dr. Lina Lin chatted about his life, and he calmly recounted that it was currently a challenging period for him. Diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) shortly after starting elementary school, his teachers judged that Loya wasn’t suited for academics. Fortunately, he had musical talent and learned to play the guitar. Loya eventually taught Latin American music at a community college. However, when budget constraints impacted the school, his job became part-time. Despite still holding a teaching position, with a lower pay due to reduced work hours, Loya struggled to sustain his livelihood. As a result, he started using his car as a mobile home.
Loya, who has been nearsighted since age eight, had been unable to afford new glasses for the past year and a half after his original ones broke. When driving, he could only squint in an attempt to improve his blurry vision, taking a risk when navigating the busy streets of Los Angeles. In less than half a day, Loya returned to the clinic’s waiting area, where Dr. Lin brought a pair of glasses specially made for him to try on. When he saw the world in focus again, Loya’s face lit up with a bright smile. He kept saying, “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Loya returned to his car and grabbed his guitar. Returning to the Vision Mobile Clinic service area, he told the volunteers, “I want to sing for you.” He also drew a picture of an eye with a heart to make a personal thank-you card to express his gratitude for their love and care. Only after this did the volunteers learn about Loya’s history of composing music for many movies, TV shows, and stage productions. He was a renowned Latin guitarist who had released solo albums and collaborated with world-famous tenor Plácido Domingo and pop diva Madonna. In his youth, Loya even performed in Madonna’s music video for her chart-topping single “La Isla Bonita,” showcasing his charisma and talent.
His having received new glasses from Tzu Chi USA brought about some positive changes in Loya’s life. With his now-corrected vision, he could confidently interview for new jobs. Loya regained his enthusiasm for living and subsequently accepted multiple invitations to perform in Tzu Chi USA’s charity concerts or to join Tzu Chi volunteers in activities such as visiting children’s homes. Loya could use his singing and musical talents to give back to those who had once helped him. Moreover, Marcus Loya and Dr. Lina Lin have remained friends since his heartwarming free clinic experience.
For us, Marcos is a special guy. From his tidy appearance and polite manners, others couldn’t tell he was homeless. When he wore his glasses again that day, he was so elated. And the reason that made him most happy was because he was scared that he would hit someone while driving with blurry vision.
Throughout the Dark Corners of Los Angeles
Marcos Loya is one of the friends that Dr. Lina Lin, a Tzu Chi USA medical team member for nearly ten years, met during community clinics. Responsible for Tzu Chi USA’s optometry services in Southern California today, in 1993, while she was a university student, Lin volunteered at Garfield Hospital in Monterey Park, California, and once accompanied a Chinese patient with muscular dystrophy. She realized that even just saying hello and chatting with the young man made him so happy, and she felt the same joy. This experience planted the idea in her mind that using her bilingual skills to help her fellow Chinese would be wonderful.
Soon after, Lin picked up a pamphlet introducing Tzu Chi at the entrance to a Chinese supermarket. Moved by the stories inside, she took the initiative to join the team of Tzu Chi volunteers at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Free Clinic in Alhambra. In 1998, Lin temporarily suspended her Tzu Chi volunteer service to return to Taiwan for further studies and work. However, the events of September 11, 2001, had a profound impact on her, leading Lin to reflect on the meaning of life and the power of compassion. In 2002, Lin actively resumed her volunteer work with Tzu Chi USA. Although the Alhambra Free Clinic didn’t have any ophthalmic equipment, she brought a handheld device she owned to serve those in need.
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, which planned to provide more free vision care services, received a donation from loving philanthropists in 2013 to purchase the first Vision Mobile Clinic to serve in Southern California. Lin, already involved with Tzu Chi as a volunteer, officially became a Tzu Chi USA staff member in 2014. “Since most medical insurance policies in the United States don’t cover vision care, a large population has been lacking in ophthalmic healthcare services for a long time. In recent years, due to the increased use of electronics among youths, many young children already have myopia when they enter school,” Lin pointed out. Thankfully, “over the years, the trajectory of Tzu Chi’s mobile clinic vehicles in the United States has almost covered every corner in Los Angeles County that needs service, from homeless shelters, women’s centers, and schools in underprivileged communities, to various cooperating non-profit organizations. Tzu Chi’s entire medical team has gone to provide services,” she added.
I’ve met countless people in need. The Tzu Chi team not only provides free clinic services but also cares for families discovered in the clinic who need charity care. Being able to help people with my professional knowledge, whenever I see them smile after receiving help, is the greatest encouragement for me because it makes me feel that all my efforts are valuable.
Patient-Friendly Services
Since the establishment of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Free Clinic in Alhambra, California, in 1993, Tzu Chi USA has been committed to providing professional medical services, including Western and traditional Chinese medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology, cancer screening, and preventive care to underprivileged individuals in Southern California. From the initial leasing of buses to transport farmworkers living in San Bernardino County to the Free Clinic for treatment to conducting regular community clinic outreach, facilitating patient visits has always been one of the goals of Tzu Chi’s medical services. Therefore, in 2000, Tzu Chi USA officially launched the first Tzu Chi Dental Mobile Clinic in Southern California, allowing Tzu Chi’s medical team to reach even more remote and medically underserved rural areas.
Tzu Chi USA Mobile Clinics
Southern California
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The three mobile clinic units in Southern California provide dental care, vision care, and cancer screening services. The mobile clinic fleet chiefly participates in community outreach events organized by the Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) across the region, in places such as San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Orange County, and San Diego.
Furthermore, the Dental Mobile Clinic unit has twice traveled from Southern California to Texas to participate in healthcare outreach affiliated with Tzu Chi USA’s disaster relief following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey. Due to the connections forged during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Tzu Chi established strong friendships with several medical volunteer organizations in the United States. Therefore, when Remote Area Medical in 2009, then Care Harbor in 2011, launched large-scale free clinic projects in Los Angeles, they invited Tzu Chi to support and deploy multiple medical vehicles and teams of healthcare professionals to participate in the events, which served thousands.
In addition to accumulating practical experience through participation in large-scale clinics, the Tzu Chi USA medical team in Southern California also focuses on community-based projects. By partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Downtown Women’s Center Los Angeles, Pacific Clinics, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church’s winter homeless shelter, Foothill Unity Center, Inc., Molina Healthcare, Sun Clinic Laboratories, and many other government departments and community charitable and medical organizations, the Tzu Chi team jointly organizes specialized clinics for specific populations.
Indescribable Gratitude
“The clinics arranged in cooperation with community organizations are scheduled for initial visits based on the unit’s needs. For example, when providing dental and vision clinics at a winter shelter for those experiencing homelessness, we usually leave around three o’clock in the afternoon. When we arrive at the shelter parking lot, we wait for the unhoused individuals to come to the shelter, where they can bathe and clean up in the evening,” Jason Wong, a former driver for the Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, explained. “Tzu Chi volunteers will first provide hot meals and distribute daily necessities to those who have finished their meal, and then they can queue up in the parking lot for medical treatment,” Wong recounted. “Sometimes there are more people with illnesses, so we may coordinate and provide medical treatment until around ten or 11 o’clock.”
Juan Loera, a 40-year-old man experiencing homelessness who had moved from Connecticut to Southern California, put on his new glasses and couldn’t stop smiling. He mentioned that he had been wearing glasses for five or six years, but they broke. Due to unemployment and financial constraints, he couldn’t get them repaired or replaced.
I want to find a job, but I can’t even read the forms clearly to fill out an application. It’s painful and embarrassing. Now, with the new glasses, I can look for a construction worker job again. These glasses will be useful right away.
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Guillermo Ulloa, unhoused for several months due to unemployment, unexpectedly received free vision care services when he stayed at a shelter and found out after eye exams that he needed glasses. “With the new glasses, I can see more clearly. I’m a tattoo artist and need good eyesight to do a lot of fine work,” Ulloa said happily. “Poor eyesight makes it difficult for me to find a new job. Thanks for your clinic; your volunteers were very kind to me. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to get out of this predicament. I’m truly grateful,” he added.
Aldred Padibiogo, who had previously received dental care services from the Tzu Chi Dental Mobile Clinic in Southern California several times, had his teeth cleaned and any new small and large cavities filled. Then, he received additional care. “Your volunteers gave me a neat haircut, which makes me look more energetic,” Padibiogo recounted with satisfaction. “Since I have diabetes, your volunteers also advised me to have an eye examination. It was the first time I saw an eye doctor. Your services for those without medical insurance are very helpful in daily life and job searching.”
There Is Love in This World After All
“Since 2020, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation (BTCMF) has been formally certified by the federal government, and all clinics under its jurisdiction, including the mobile clinic units, have received Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike status. Therefore, the current operation and outreach by the mobile clinic fleet must strictly comply with relevant federal regulations,” Clarence Yu, who is in charge of coordinating the mobile clinic program at BTCMF, explained. “Unable to hold outreach during the pandemic, the mobile clinic team in Southern California took advantage of the rare hiatus from service and conducted maintenance and repairs on the vehicles,” Yu recounted. “After the pandemic, when community clinics resumed, the medical vehicles became moving clinic offices that could operate and serve the community in the form of mobile clinics,” he reported.
Currently, the goal of mobile clinic services in Southern California is to collaborate with school districts in Los Angeles County and municipal governments. The mobile clinic units travel to public schools, community centers, and senior care centers in the city to provide vision and dental check-up services for vulnerable groups such as underprivileged older adults, children, unhoused individuals, and those with disabilities. “We’re currently working with surrounding school districts in South El Monte, such as providing dental care for students in collaboration with the Mountain View School District and offering vision exams and prescription eyeglass fitting services in partnership with the Valle Lindo school district,” Yu conveyed as he summarized the projects the mobile clinic team in Southern California is involved in.
“The fact that Tzu Chi has been certified is a significant milestone for Tzu Chi USA. This not only means that the medical services provided by Tzu Chi in the future are eligible for federal funding but also represents that the federal government has recognized the quality of Tzu Chi USA’s medical team,” explained Dr. Shirley Chen, a Director on the BTCMF’s Board.
As Director of the Medical Development Department at the BTCMF, Shirley Chen also presented its plans for the future: “The current certified jurisdiction for Tzu Chi is Los Angeles County, which means our medical vehicles must adhere to relevant regulations, with a focus on serving federal Medicare patients in Los Angeles County. Of course, if we have the capacity in the future, we may consider participating in community clinics organized by TIMA purely for charitable purposes or joining clinic projects planned by partner organizations, depending on the situation and needs.”
For over 20 years, Tzu Chi USA’s mobile clinic fleet in Southern California has been assisting communities in need, bridging the gap in medical resources between urban and rural areas. The mobile clinic team has relieved the suffering of patients, allowing those who often bear the brunt of harsh life circumstances alone, their sorrow etched on their faces, to experience the rare warmth of genuine care given with selfless love. Finally, they can ease their furrowed brows and radiate smiles that had been absent for too long.
