Mercy Care partners with NFL Alumni to promote good health for underserved

Disease prevention is key to quality of life
Mercy Care, a network of primary care clinics that serve the uninsured and underinsured in the greater Atlanta area, is partnering with the NFL Alumni Association Georgia Chapter, to host its Spring Festival on Saturday, April 22, at 424 Decatur Street, Atlanta, GA, across from the King Memorial MARTA Station.
The Spring Festival focuses on making screenings accessible to people for high blood pressure, glucose, HIV, and hepatitis C.
“Many people have fallen out of the routine of seeing their primary care doctor since COVID-19 upended our lives,” said Reed Pitre, interim chief medical officer and director of psychiatry and street medicine. “We hope we can not only catch health issues before they get bad but also get people back into the routine of preventive care.”
Mercy Care is committed to providing quality healthcare to all Atlantans regardless of ability to pay. The primary focus of its work is primary care services for adults and children with special focus on those with chronic conditions and infectious diseases. Mercy Care also provides psychiatry, behavioral health, substance abuse counseling, dental, vision, street medicine and more. People pay only what they can afford based on household income.
As one of their tenents, the NFL Alumni Association Georgia Chapter is aiding in helping people to get the screenings that they need.
“We’re at a different place in the pandemic, with a better understanding of the virus, and we have more tools to keep ourselves, our families, and our friends safe,” said Andrew Bolton, former NFL Running Back and president of the NFL Alumni Association Georgia Chapter.
“We are thrilled to partner with the state, the county, and our local healthcare partners, such as Mercy Care to encourage people who still have concerns about vaccines to talk to their doctor or a trusted health professional and make an informed decision about getting vaccinated. Vaccines are another way to protect our health and build our immunity to keep us in the game.”
Bolton is among the more than 120 players lending their voices to NFL Alumni’s vaccination education and awareness campaign that began in 2021 in partnership with the CDC and is expanding within Georgia with support from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
“We are grateful for the NFL Alumni for being at the Spring Festival and giving of their time, “ Dr. Pitre said. “We share the same sentiments about the value of good health. While Mercy Care is making it a fun family affair with games, raffles, free food, and more, the draw of professional football players playing with the kids talking about the importance healthy lifestyle, can make all the difference.”
For more information about Mercy Care Atlanta or its Sprint Festival, please visit  https://mercyatlanta.org/ .
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