Daniela Danilova, communications director of Railcare Health
Daniela Danilova, communications director of Railcare Health outside Haynes Hall.

 I first encountered Railcare Health by accident, as I was having coffee at Lanza’s. They were holding a free screening and I was fascinating by the model. I reached out to them, and recently met with their communications director, Daniela Danilova, to learn about her about her involvement with Carolina Railcare and what is in store for their future.

Daniela is a junior at Carolina UNC majoring in Quantitative Biology, which mostly involves the computational study of biological data in fields such as genomics and biophysics. She is also an East Chapel Hill graduate. She has been connected with the organization since she began her attendance at UNC.

Daniela Danilova, communications director of Railcare Health
Daniela Danilova, communications director of Railcare Health outside Haynes Hall.

Daniela, was interested in Railcare even before her tenure at UNC and reached out to Kevin Travia, one of the founders. She was interested in being involved in medically oriented activities and technical matters related to the study of health. Railcare sounded like a place that checked all the boxes of her interests. They had an opening and she has been with them ever since.

It turns out Lanza’s is a regular stop and and long time partner. When Railcare is operating there, Lanza’s is kind to donate some of their proceeds that day to the organization. They were just there again, and will be in action at Lanza’s once more on December 7th.

What is Railcare Health?

Railcare Health is a healthcare clinic that provides free health care to the community via volunteers from local universities and local physicians. They also utilize students and experts in fields like public health, dentistry, and mental health to provide an interdisciplinary approach to healthcare.

Railcare was inspired by Kathy Minardi, founder Kevin Travia’s grandmother. During the holidays, she often takes the train from Connecticut to a small town in North Carolina to visit friends and family. One time, she noticed abandoned train cars along the rails… and the opportunity to use them for good. Here, Railcare Health was born with the goal of converting one of these structures into a mobile healthcare clinic. Since then, Railcare has transitioned to operating out of a shuttle bus, but the dream of increasing rural healthcare access is still at the heart of their mission.

Getting out into the community at events is a part of the Railcare focus. I ran into them again at the Community Home Trust’s Annual Block party. This (and other events) are organized by Danielle Cabradillia, who is in charge of booking events. They will also be in Zebulon on November 23rd at an event call Candy Cane Lane

UNC mascot, Rameses , has their blood pressure checked by Alex Bean of Railcare Health
UNC mascot, Rameses , has their blood pressure checked by Alex Bean of Railcare Health

Moving Forward

The original model for Railcare health was to equip a full railroad car to operate as a mobile clinic that could be moved from town to town in rural NC. Many towns have rail lines running through them or near them, and the idea was to leave the car at a community to permit access to health care locally. As that did not turn out to be as practical as hoped, Railcare has shifted to using shuttle bus. I used to see their bus parked, when it was not in use, in the lot across from Merritt’s Grill. Right ow, the shuttle model needs some work. However, they are working to get a shuttle back on the road. They have aspirations for growth to help provide the gap in rural health that has appeared with the closing of so many community health centers. Here is where you could help. They , like all organizations, need funding, and they also need people with specific medical skills. However, even if you don’t have medical skills, they could use your help to help run the clinics.

Railcare also has a branch in Greenville, NC, and they have been lucky to have been been able to retain physicians who can consistently help at their events.

Railcare is always looking for students and local medically trained people who could lend their hand an experiences to help operate. As a partly student run organization, there will always be a turnover of student staff, so it’s a great place for students to get some initial experience in facing people out in the real world in health related interactions. Interested? Look here.

A map of NC, with locations where Railcare has operated and wish to operate in the future

 Upcoming places you can find Railcare if you want to meet and talk to them

November 23 – Candy Cane Lane – Downtown Zebulon – 4- 8 PM

December 7th – Lanzas Cafe Carrboro – 601 W . Main Street – 11AM – 1PM

 

 

John Rees lives in Chapel Hill. He was, until very recently, a member of the Chapel Hill Planning Commission and former chair. He serves on the board of the Bicycle Alliance of Chapel Hill, and is also...