Delaware County is taking its health services on the road, literally.
Health leaders are launching Wellness on Wheels, a 33-foot RV retrofitted as a traveling medical clinic designed to bring basic care directly to residents who need it most, reports Sarah Gantz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The mobile unit will offer vaccines, blood pressure checks, prostate cancer screenings, and referrals to county clinics and doctors, pulling up to neighborhoods rather than waiting for patients to come to them.
“Public health works best when we meet people where they are,” said Lora Siegmann Werner, the director of the Delaware County Health Department.
The program, funded by $310,000 in federal grants, launched Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Glenolden. But the need driving it has been building for months.
Since Crozer Health closed last year, many residents, particularly in Chester and surrounding communities, have been left farther from emergency care, behavioral health services, and other essential medical resources.
Some now rely on multiple bus transfers just to reach a hospital in Media, Darby, Delaware, or Philadelphia.
The RV is equipped with a wheelchair lift, exam chair, storage space, and a small refrigerator for vaccines, medications, and lab samples.
Residents can expect to see it pop up at county health events, including the Hoops for Health basketball tournament in Darby on June 20.
Delaware County is also developing an online form for organizations to request the clinic for community events.
Read the full report in The Philadelphia Inquirer for a deeper look at how Delaware County is rethinking health access for its most underserved communities.
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