The Flying Doctors return to Coachella Valley to help those in need

The Flying Doctors are back in the Coachella Valley and providing essential care to hundreds of families in need. They gathered at Desert Mirage High School Saturday for a day of dental checks, medical exams and much more.

Twenty one years ago, it was just a doctor and a dentist at the very first clinic. Dr. David Morgan is the man that started it back in 1995 when the doctors first flew into the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport.

“Must be 250 people working here, with the volunteers and everything. And I’m just very pleased to see it grow,” said Morgan.

The clinic providing uninsured and underinsured families with a number of essential medical services. He said there’s one thing people need more than anything else.

“The greatest need is in dentisty. These people have not had an opportunity to see a dentist,” said. Morgan.

The dental check room was by far the busiest. Larry Tabor has been there since the start and said often time for these families dental care gets overlooked.

“It gets overlooked by our government, it gets overlooked by the patients and if it doesn’t hurt they don’t need it and the disease progresses. And here not only are we trying to do the work but we’re trying to educate the patient,” Tabor said.

Vanessa Chavez and her two children are waiting for their chance to see a dentist.

“It’s a blessing because a lot of people in the community don’t have insurance and you come here and you get all these free services,” Chavez said.

The clinic grows each year. This year Shriners Hospital for Children joining the ranks, bringing new healthcare providers and resources to the event.

“I don’t know how many doctors we’ve got, we’ve got 26 dentists and if we had more square footage or a bigger venue we’d have more,” Tabor said.

Care doesn’t end at the fair. There’s a comprehensive referral system for patients who need to follow up.