Adventist Health unveils newest mobile clinic

Adventist Health has added a new mobile clinic to its growing fleet to aid in providing care to people who otherwise might not have access. The new mobile unit was dedicated in a ceremony at Adventist Health Hanford on Sept. 4.

The mobile clinic is a collaborative project funded through partnerships with Bank of America, Leprino Foods, the Mackey family and Facility Designs. The mobile clinic is expected to allow Adventist Health to reach more than 600 residents each year to provide screenings and vaccines to underserved communities. Adventist now boasts a fleet of four vehicles serving 33 communities between the Adventist Health network that includes 131 clinics.

“These mobile units go out and provide necessary screenings and services,” Adventist Health Communications Director Kiyoshi Tomono said. “We go out and diagnose and screen for cancer and cancers have been caught because of these mobile units.”

The mobile clinics are outfitted with the same screening tools used in the clinics and hospitals, allowing the mobile units to provide a high level of care to rural communities that have limited access to healthcare.

“Many of [these communities] would not have healthcare if it wasn’t for the commitment of this team and the support of so many community partners of taking healthcare across Central California,” Jason Wells, president of Adventist Health’s Central California Network said. “This is one of those additional strategies, because some times brick-and-mortar, it works to build a beautiful clinic and people will come, but we have also learned that taking the clinic to the people, that has been a tremendous blessing to many communities.”

Hanford Vice-Mayor Mark Kairis, city councilmember Martin Devine, and representatives from State Sen. Melissa Hurtado’s office and State Assemblymember Devin Mathis were in attendance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“It was a year-and-a-half, maybe two years ago that I was standing in this parking lot dedicating the first mobile unit, and here we are today a short time later for the second unit,” Kairis said. “I got to share a little time with the doctor this morning and how important these things are for our communities, not just Hanford, but all of the surrounding communities and disadvantaged communities in our area. This is critical in healthcare and driving that service to our communities. It is going to have an incremental impact daily on getting better health for our communities.”

Immediately after the dedication celebration was completed, the new mobile clinic was put to work, driving to Armona to provide screenings for residents of the senior center. Armona is one of the few communities in the Valley that has no clinic at all, highlighting the importance of the mobile units.

https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/adventist-health-unveils-newest-mobile-clinic/article_371d70c4-6ae8-11ef-b41d-3765a96f0279.html

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