23-07-2025
More than 100 joint military members provide free healthcare for Ellwood City residents
While school is out for the summer, the hallways and rooms at Lincoln High School have become venues for service.
"This has been two years in the making," Colonel Nicole Hurley, Headquarters of the Air Force Reserve Command Commanders, said. "This has been nine months' worth of planning."
Those plans culminated in lines.
"We brought with us here about 160 joint military members," Heather Edsall, Air Force Reserve Command Innovative Readiness Training Medical Program Manager, said.
There are people from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.
They're providing dental care, eye care, eyeglass making – among other things.
"These are doctors, nurses, veterinarians, optometrists, and dentists that do this every day in their home station and their civilian practices," Edsall said.
It's also all free of charge for people coming down.
"A lot of citizens can't afford this healthcare that they're receiving, Mayor Anthony Court of Ellwood City said.
It's all to prepare these service members.
"Bringing patients through the door helps us simulate what would happen if we had sort of a need to provide care on a mass scale," Edsall said.
It's a readiness training exercise with real community benefits.
"A lot of dedicated people have come forward through this process," Mayor Court said.
People like Colonel Nicole Hurley wanted to bring this to Ellwood City. She was born and raised there.
She says she's seen the decline in healthcare coverage in the city, and was happy to see the community show out.
"The community has been, really, really supportive," Hurley said. "So – it's meant a lot."
