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| Vol. 24, No. 20 |
| November 1, 2002 |
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Mobile Health Care Units Respond to Growing Community Health Need The use of mobile health units to provide health care for underserved and uninsured adults and children is a growing trend in the United States. With a record 43 million people lacking access to primary health care, mobile health units are more valuable than ever before. In Harris and the surrounding counties, mobile health units serve more than 50,000 people a year, providing basic primary health care, preventive medicine, mental health services, health screenings and family dental services.Responding to community need, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, a nonprofit organization and funding source for several of the mobile health units, created a program that allows the 17 mobile health units in the Houston area to communicate on a regular basis. This program, the Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum, ensures that the communities are being served as thoroughly and effectively as possible. The Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum allows the individual mobile health programs to share information on topics such as healthcare access problems and operational insight, identify community health priorities and provide information to public health officials. It was through the efforts of the Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum that the need for “family dental care” was first identified, resulting in a new Houston Community Dental Van to be launched this month. Supported by public and private funds and operated by 14 public and private agencies, the mobile health units reach those populations traditionally without health care. “The mobile units allow us to go into neighborhoods and meet the people where they live,” said Carla Cooper, Ph.D., St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities executive director. “They provide the unique ability to respond directly to the community, meeting not only immediate needs, but offering prevention and education as well.” Sponsored by St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities and The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, the community’s first mobile family dental unit is expected to serve more than 4,250 people in its first year. Targeting uninsured, underserved families, the van will provide general dentistry to the greater Houston area in collaboration with the other members of the Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum. A second new unit, introduced in October, is Project MOVE, an effort of Communities in Schools sponsored by St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities. Project MOVE is dedicated to serving Houston’s Fifth Ward, a community in which few children receive needed mental health and primary care services. Project MOVE also plans to expand services into the Denver Harbor community. The Project MOVE mobile unit will offer school-based health care including children’s immunizations, health education and mental health counseling. This unit is expected to serve 1,300 children in its first year. In addition, another 15 mobile units provide valuable health services to the community. Services include chronic disease screening; medical, social and mental health services for the homeless; substance abuse; health education; HIV education and testing; pediatric care; family care; and mammography screenings. These units serve Harris, Matagorda, Waller, Montgomery and Fort Bend counties. The Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum is the first mobile health collaboration in the nation to create a disaster readiness plan developed in conjunction with a major metropolitan city that will enable members to respond in a coordinated fashion in a time of community emergency. Taking lessons learned from Tropical Storm Allison and the tragedy of Sept. 11, the Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum has coordinated with the city of Houston to develop a plan of action that will allow the mobile health units to serve as care providers to the community, whether as first aid stations, immunization locations, or other medical outposts. For more information on the Greater Houston Mobile Health Forum, Houston Community Dental Van or Project MOVE, contact St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities at (832) 355-3137, or visit www.slehc.org.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/11_01_02/page_15.html |