NORWICH – A massive effort to connect thousands of area residents to no-cost health care services is a go, thanks to a partnership between a local coalition of planning and human service agencies, and the United States Department of Defense.

Greater Chenango Cares is an 11-day initiative that will offer no-cost routine medical, dental, optometry, and veterinary services to residents of Chenango and surrounding areas while at the same time providing service men and women with training for wartime missions and disasters. The event, which is spearheaded by the Chenango County Department of Planning and Development, will run July 13 through July 23 at the Norwich City High School.

According to the Chenango Department of Planning and Development, Greater Chenango Cares will serve in the ball park of 5,000 residents through the helping hands of approximately 170 U.S. service members. While the Department of Defense has held such Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) exercises in underserved communities throughout the country, this will be the first of its kind in the north east.

“It’s a big project,” said Shane Butler of the Chenango County Department of Planning and Development. “One of the things we want to stress is that these people are physicians. This isn’t going to be a training to make sure they know how to be a physician. It’s more to learn how they can set up a temporary hospital where they can treat people in case of an emergency event.”