This was a regular checkup for Flores. But instead of going to a hospital, Flores saw her doctor in a medical van that was parked outside Lakewood Elementary School.

Without the van, Flores probably wouldn't get any medical service, since her parents can't afford to buy insurance for her.

Funded by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, the medical van visits poor neighborhoods in the Bay Area, providing free medical services for uninsured children.

Its services include immunizations, physical examinations and treatment for illnesses, as well as hearing and vision screening. The staff also helps parents apply for low-rate health insurance for their children.

To meet the families' various needs, four people staff the medical van—a physician, a social worker, a community outreach worker and a nurse. Most of its staff can speak both English and Spanish.

The medical bus, called Packard Children's HealthVan 11, was initially made possible by a grant from Blue Cross of California and is continually supported through private and corporate donations. The promotional sponsor is KNTV Channel 11 in San Jose.

Last year more than 2,000 children benefited from the program.

Currently, the van stops at four locations—Lakewood Elementary School, Hawes Elementary School in Redwood City, Mariano Castro School in Mountain View and St. Francis of Assisi Church in East Palo Alto.

Lakewood Principal Sheri "Ms. Shoe" Holbrook found out about the health van when she saw it at other schools. She called and the foundation decided to add Lakewood as one of its stops beginning April 15.

The medical van now visits Lakewood the second and fourth Tuesday of every month.

Free medical service is direly needed at Lakewood, where 36 percent of the student body participates in free or reduced-price lunch.

"The majority of our students and their families don't have health insurance," Holbrook says. "We have seen an increasing need, as many parents are losing their jobs. The health van can help them in a variety of ways."

Jeanie Terrell, medical aide at Lakewood, has noticed a high number of students who are behind in getting their immunizations and need vision as well as dental care. She calls the parents, but most of them speak little English. Sometimes telephone numbers the parent gave to the school are wrong or disconnected. Sometimes families don't have an answering machine at home. Sometimes Terrell has students translate for her, but she isn't sure whether they translate correctly.

So Terrell, who only works two days a week at Lakewood, is happy to get a little extra help from the health van.

"Many parents have trouble going to the doctor's office because they don't have a car," Terrell says. "Now they can just walk up to the van and make their appointment."

Lakewood has sent out bilingual flyers introducing the health van but not many local families are using the service.

"Normally it takes a few months to pick up," says physician Amanda Haiman, 32. "Summer is slow, but we get really busy in fall and winter."

The van's services have been invaluable to families in need.

For more information about Packard Children's HealthVan 11, call 800.690.2282.