The mobile unit’s services include vaccinations and screenings for blood pressure and hemoglobin A1C, and it is open to all, Cook said.
“This community is where I work; it’s perhaps more importantly where I live. This is where I’m raising my family, and so for me, I think we all want the same thing,” Cook said. “We want to thrive in a healthy Springfield and Clark County, and I’ve got a personal stake in that as I’ve expressed.”
Cook said he believes with the mobile unit, the health department can reduce its wait times from two months to about two weeks.
The mobile unit will be joined and eventually replaced in the future by a permanent clinic, but a location for that second option is still being worked out, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during the press conference.
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said during the press conference that ODH is in Springfield and will remain here “throughout this time of challenge.” He emphasized the gravity of introducing a mobile unit to the area in just one week.
Vanderhoff said this clinic will not replace or compete with existing services, but will supplement and expand upon resources that are already in place. He said priority areas to address are getting people vaccinated and providing maternal, prenatal and infant care.
“There is a lot of simply outstanding work that is being done here for this community,” Vanderhoff said. “It’s a community that is truly blessed to have some of our outstanding partners who include Rocking Horse Center, Mercy Health and so many other organizations and I really could not recount all of them.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Cook said that the mobile unit is not urgent care, but serves as a bridge to be able to get long-term care. He said the next step is to transition to the permanent clinic to add basic “poor health screenings,” for oral, mental and physical health, as well as seeing where a patient is based on their age and getting them vaccinated and treated for chronic conditions.
The state is sending a surge of nurse staff for the clinic, and others will come from the health department. There are two exam rooms on the bus, which is equipped with basic medical equipment, and there will be anywhere from five to seven staff members on it at a time, Cook said.
DeWine said that the primary healthcare system is strained, and this unit will help with that.
“What this mobile clinic will do is it will benefit all the citizens of Clark County, all the citizens of Springfield, whether they’re Haitian, whether they have lived here all their lives,” DeWine said.
Appointments can be scheduled by calling the health department at 937-390-5600 or online at mobile.clark.health, Cook said. Walk-in appointments will be taken as available.
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