When he volunteered to serve the hungry on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in January, Kareem Johnson was surprised to find a demand for his nursing skills. Johnson, RN, CCRN-BC, has been a nurse for five years and works in the intensive care units at Atlanta Medical Center.

"A friend who volunteers at the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless events encouraged my family to try it, so my mom, two cousins and I signed up to work on the MLK holiday," he said. "I thought I'd just be serving food, but because I was a nurse, they put me in the clinic."

Photos by BARRY WILLIAMS/Special (ENLARGE)

Kareem Johnson takes Roderick Weaver's blood pressure at a free medical clinic at the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless Martin Luther King Jr. holiday dinner on Jan. 21 at Turner Field.

(ENLARGE)

Nurse Rochelle Mack (above middle) instructs volunteers Jeanine Fleuridor (above left) and Rolanda Delice at the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless MLK Day dinner. Volunteers at the medical clinic (below) provided checkups, health screenings, flu shots and medical advice to the homeless and working poor.

(ENLARGE)

(ENLARGE)

People who came to the medical clinic at the event received free toiletries.

Since it was founded in 1971 by the late civil rights activist Hosea Williams and his wife, Juanita, the organization has sponsored a clinic as part of its free holiday dinners. Dr. Priscilla Johnson — who teaches at the Morehouse School of Medicine — leads a team of health care professionals who volunteer to provide checkups, screenings, flu shots, medical advice and free toiletries to the homeless and working poor.

"We checked vital signs, blood pressures and blood sugars; washed feet and cleaned wounds; gave out over-the-counter medicines; and sent patients on to see the doctors serving at the clinic," Kareem Johnson said.

A case-management team of nurses and social workers referred some patients to other clinics for ongoing care. A few were sent directly to Grady Memorial Hospital.

"A lot of people living on the street have no way of getting the things they need," Johnson said. "Some didn't even know they had high blood pressure or diabetes. Others knew about their diseases but didn't know where to get help.

"We gave out a lot of supplies but could have used more."

In some cases, the nurse worried that his advice about diet and exercise would go unheeded.

"One man told me he knew he needed to eat a low-sodium diet, but, being homeless, [he] had to eat what he could find," he said. "Even when we couldn't help them medically, I know we helped them emotionally, and they left with smiles on their faces."

Johnson feels fortunate that his nursing job allows him to help people on a daily basis, but many of his Atlanta Medical Center patients are in too serious of conditions to talk, he said.

"It was nice to have patients that I could talk to," he said. "They had a lot of questions, and we were able to encourage them and advise them. It made us all feel good to be out using our skills to help others. I'm going back for the Easter [March 23] event."