16-02-2025
Virginia Beach partners with ODU to offer health care services to women in need
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Some women experiencing homelessness face significant challenges in accessing healthcare.
Tammy Speerhas, a nurse practitioner and director of ODU Community Care, is among those working to bridge this gap.
On Feb. 15, the day following Valentine's Day, Speerhas and dozens of volunteers gathered to provide essential services to women who may lack access to healthcare.
'We're doing our first annual Women's Day; it's a pop-up event,' she explained. 'We are providing free health care services, including cervical cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection screenings and colorectal screenings. Our Sentara partner is here as well with their mobile mammogram van, so we're doing breast cancer screenings and mobile mammograms as well.'
Volunteers and hired professionals say people experiencing homelessness often lack a comfortable place to go for health check-ups.
Speerhas noted that events like these help bridge the gap and enable individuals to return to familiar faces, providing an opportunity for comfort. Many of the volunteers at Saturday's event were students from Old Dominion University pursuing degrees in dental, mental and behavioral health, and nursing.
'This is our opportunity to serve the underserved population, those that are most vulnerable, to show them we see them, we hear them, we love them, and to be kind and generous to them,' said Speerhas.
Virginia Beach Housing Resources and Health Clinic on Witchduck Road is dedicated to spreading kindness and promoting good health every day.
For more information on upcoming clinics and the services offered, click here.
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