LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — We’re profiling an organization that helps provide healthcare to children in need, and want to continue providing them some clothing to get through this cold winter.
One step inside the bus, you’re greeted with festive decorations almost forgetting this is a doctor’s office.
“So, Halloween we always decorate. We always keep prizes for our youth, our kids. We usually have candy out,” Pamela Douglass, pediatric nurse practitioner
It’s a safe space of comfort these nurses from the Nevada Health Centers are providing while treating young clients.
“We try to make it fun and if they’re scared, we try to get on the floor with them and play and get them in mom’s arms,” she said.
They function as “doctors on wheels," going all over the valley to provide medical care for children who are uninsured, homeless, or refugees. The nurses treat anywhere from 12 to 20 children a day. They never accept a dime.
“All the care that we provide is free. All the medications, the lab work, anything that they need,” Douglass said.
The nurses say those needs are extensive.
“A lot of them have nothing. No jackets, no socks, no shoes, and then even blankets for the little ones, so many times the kids come in freezing cold shivering,” she said.
The nurses provide items like gloves and scarves to help the children, and always need donations. That’s where 13 Days and Knights of Giving comes in.
“All the work that you do is wonderful, and I’m sure has an impact on the local community and the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation want to help your cause, and helping your clients, especially your younger clients who otherwise might not have access to health care,” 13 Action News reporter Jeremy Chen said. “We are giving you right here a golden ticket to a specific event coming later this month and that’s where they’ll be providing 25 hundred dollars’ worth of items that will include clothing like socks and pajamas for your younger clients so congratulations!”
“Thank you so much. This means the world to our patients and to us, so it helps us serve more people in the community,” Douglass said.
The nurses says the donation will go a long way, clothing a lot of children and sending a powerful message.
“It shows them that someone cares about them, because many of them haven’t had anybody to show them that they care,” Douglass said.
It’s compassion that captures the spirit of Christmas.
