By Christopher M. Riggs
Bonnie Toombs asked those walking toward The Lord’s Diner Tuesday, Oct. 19, to take a detour to the Pius X Room at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
The detour wasn’t for hor’s douevres, Toombs, director of the diocesan Respect Life & Social Justice Office, was directing the foot traffic to the Diner to the registered nurses waiting with forms to fill out and doses of flu vaccine ready for injection.
“We know there are a lot of people in the area who need preventative health care,” said Marlene Dreiling, executive director of the Guadalupe Clinic, a ministry of the Diocese of Wichita. “Sometimes people can come to you, so you go to them.”
After administering about 400 injections Oct. 6 at the clinic office at 940 S. St. Francis, several nurses and volunteers from Wichita State University drove to the Cathedral across from the Diner where they gave 100 more injections.

“We don’t have the scare that we had last year with the H1N1 and we had a regular flu season that started very early last year that has not occurred this year,” Dreiling said. “Consequently people haven’t rushed in to get them.”
This year patients who walk into the clinic are asked if they would like a flu shot, she added, so that they can do what they can to prevent a flu epidemic among the uninsured.
Those who have no insurance and would like a flu shot may call the clinic at (316) 264-8974.
Dreiling added that if there are parishes in the diocese who have a large number of people who need flu shots, the clinic would try to make arrangements to take care of the parish.