Premier Community Health is a subsidiary of Fidelity Health Care. The mobile clinic will continue Premier Community Health’s program of offering health screenings, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose checks. The clinic also can be utilized for health and lifestyle education, as well as for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Patients who are 18 years old and older who utilize the mobile clinic will receive free care through funding from the Premier Health Community Benefits Program and the health system’s four hospital foundations.
“Miami Valley Hospital Foundation is proud to partner with CareSource in bringing a new mobile clinic to our community,” said Jenny Lewis, system vice president of philanthropy at Premier Health. “This new clinic will give our health system the ability to deliver even more services and programs in our mission of battling social determinants of health.”
The new clinic was funded by CareSource through the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation. The new mobile clinic, built on a 2022 Ford E450 truck platform, will be replacing the current coach, a 2004 Airstream Bus, which was funded by the Maxon Foundation, U.S. Bank, N.A., Trustee and Atrium Medical Center Foundation.
“CareSource is proud to support Premier Community Health’s new, state-of-the-art mobile clinic, " said Dee Yocum, vice president of market operations for CareSource Ohio. “Mobile clinics benefit communities by making health care more affordable and accessible, which improves patient outcomes, while providing high-quality care at a lower cost than traditional health care delivery models.”
The mobile clinic has been a part of the the health system’s Barbershop Health initiative, has provided COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics, served patients during the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes, and participated in community events, such as drive-thru food distributions at the Foodbank. Additionally, the mobile clinic partners with CareSource to provide patients and community members with education on free or low-cost health insurance services.
“We think this is an excellent opportunity to further our relationship and collaboration with Premier,” Yocum said. “The opportunity to go to where people were versus them coming to Premier, for example, it’s really breaking down the access barrier that is present in our communities.”
The mobile clinic program, which launched in 2019, has served thousands of patients who are uninsured or underinsured. In 2022, the mobile clinic provided nearly 1,000 screenings at community events and weekly screening stops. The mobile clinic primarily serves nine counties in the Dayton region, but it can reach up to 13 counties.
The clinic was previously used between two and three days a week with the COVID-19 pandemic limiting some additional events.
“We have new goals for 2023 that we’re planning at least a minimum of six events a week, so we have a very aggressive target,” Thompson said.
The new mobile clinic will begin its service to the community on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Wright State University’s men’s basketball game at the Nutter Center, where it will begin accepting patients at 5 p.m.
To request the Premier Community Health Mobile Clinic at local events, businesses, religious organizations, or other public gatherings, call (877) 274-4543 or visit https://www.premierhealth.com/locations/fidelity-health-care/contact-fidelity-health-care.
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