The Arab American and Chaldean Council has received a grant from the State of Michigan Department of Human Services that will be used to provide medical services to newly arrived refugees in Macomb, Oakland or Wayne county.

According to Kimberly Hassan of the ACC the grant is a three year contract that will serve refugees until Sep. 2014. It was effective Jan. 1. Those eligible include all newly arrived refugees within 90 days of arrival to the U.S. and those on Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) within 8 months of their arrival.

The program provides medical screening and health assessments for infectious or communicable diseases. Besides the potential of disease it’s also significant because often newly arrived refugees have never received medical treatment.  Each new patient will receive age appropriate exams, including a written medical history and head-to-toe review of body systems, as well as a gross evaluation of vision, hearing, and dental screening. Clients will also receive age appropriate immunizations, laboratory exam services to check for health concerns such as diabetes and anemia, testing as needed for sexually transmitted diseases, Hepatitis B, parasites and others, Tuberculosis (TB) services, and referrals.

Hassan said the children of refugees are eligible for the services too. When enrolling in a new school students are often required to provide proof of a physical. According to Hassan a majority of refugees arriving are Iraqis. There are doctors on staff who are fluent in Chaldean and Arabic. The grant is available for all refugees regardless of their country of origin.

For more information, contact ACC at (248) 559-1990.