New WOW Van Dedicated At Danbury Hospital

DANBURY — Members of the Danbury Hospital Development Fund’s “A Day to Make a Difference” Committee recently dedicated the new WOW (Wellness on Wheels) van during a ceremony outside the hospital’s main entrance.

The Danbury Hospital Development Fund purchased the new WOW van on behalf of the hospital with funds that it raised during this special event in 1998 and 1999. Mr and Mrs Patrick Fay of Pawling, New York, started “A Day to Make a Difference” six years ago to raise money to support programs in pediatric pulmonary service at Danbury Hospital. In ensuing years, the goal was broadened to benefit other services within the Department of Pediatrics. During the last two years, Mr and Mrs Noel Roy, Sr, of Danbury, took the reigns and opened their home to host “A Day to Make a Difference” with the help of a committee of more than 60 volunteers.

WOW is a mobile health van which provides primary care and prevention services to underinsured and uninsured families in Greater Danbury. It provides treatment to patients for a reduced fee, or at no charge for those who cannot afford to pay. WOW offers screenings, well-child health care, physicals for school, work, and camp, immunizations and flu vaccines at pre-scheduled times, and referrals to primary care centers and clinics throughout the area.

“Furnished as a mobile medical office, the new WOW van provides a more pleasant environment for patients and permits the staff to provide a more efficient service,” says Jack S.C. Fong, MD, of Newtown, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and medical director of the WOW van.

“In the summer, sweat would pour into my eyes when I was examining a patient,” said Alvin Goldman, MD, referring to the previous van. Dr Goldman, a retired pediatrician, also volunteers on the WOW van and works alongside Dr Fong. “In the winter, we would keep the engine running so that we could have heat to keep the van warm.”

During its first year of operation in 1997, Dr Fong and his WOW van staff treated 500 patients at various sites throughout Danbury. Ann Faraguna, executive director, Danbury Visiting Nurse Association, predicts that the WOW van staff will see more than 2,000 patients this year based on figures from the first six-month period, from July 1 to December 30, 1999. The bulk of the WOW van’s patients are children.