Deploying Mobile Medical Units to Improve Healthcare Access
Local health departments across the United States are using CARES Act funding to deploy mobile medical units to improve healthcare access.
In response to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act with bipartisan support. The $2.2 trillion stimulus package became law on March 27, 2020.
As part of the CARES ACT, $150 billion was earmarked for state and local governments while another $140 billion was targeted for hospitals and healthcare.
Many states chose to allocate part of their CARES ACT funding to their local health departments with Kentucky, for example, sending $36.2 million to 61 of the commonwealth’s local and regional health departments.
Georgia County Adds Six Medical Units
For some local jurisdictions, investing in mobile medical units to improve healthcare access has been the prescribed course of action. DeKalb County Board of Health in Georgia used CARES Act funding to put six medical units and four step vans into action.
“These mobile units will be a game-changer for health care delivery in DeKalb County,” district health director Dr. S. Elizabeth Ford told the Rome News-Tribune. “With these units, the Board of Health will address the current pandemic, as well as the underlying chronic health issues in the County that led to over-representation of populations of color in COVID-19 cases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and food insecurity.”
The medical units, equipped with in-take and examination rooms as well as medical equipment, will help the county provide telehealth, immunization, and community outreach to isolated populations.
The step vans will contribute to the county’s mobile farmers market program which provides nutritional and healthcare services to vulnerable residents.
Mobile Medical Vehicles Play Versatile Role
Mobile medical and other specialty-designed vehicles can play a versatile role whenIMG-9135 it comes to local healthcare.
These multifaceted vehicles can help:
- Accommodate patients who are uncertain about doctors’ visits in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Provide medical services to rural communities, which often lack healthcare options and other vital services.
- Local healthcare providers reach vulnerable populations in a cost-effective and practical manner.
Mobile COVID-19 Vaccination Testing Units Rolling Out
Across the country local health departments are proposing the use of mobile medical units in their effort to roll out COVID-19 vaccination programs and continue to efficiently test residents for coronavirus.
Programs include:
- Prima Health launched mobile vaccination units to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to rural and underserved communities in South Carolina. The custom-equipped RV-type vehicles are staffed with medical professionals.
- Tennessee Valley health officials proposed this month to spend COVID-19 stimulus funds to purchase a mobile vaccination unit.
- Alabama National Guard says they could deploy mobile COVID-19 vaccination units in rural areas.
- Milwaukee health officials are launching mobile units to help get the vaccine to areas that need it the most and to address racial disparities.
- Piedmont Access to Health Services has rolled out a new mobile unit that will be used immediately to provide COVID-19 vaccines in Martinsville and across various parts of the rural Virginia region.
In response to the pandemic Mobile Specialty Vehicles (MSV) has created a rapid-deployment mobile COVID-19 testing van.
Contact MSV today to find out how our state-of-the-art vehicles can help serve your local health care needs including primary health care, dental, mammography, vision, blood collection and audiology.