In 2014, Central Michigan University introduced a 39-foot mobile clinic that would allow medical students and doctors from CMU to serve rural communities and local schools around northern and central Michigan.
This fall, Mobile Health Central (MHC) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of meeting patients where they are at.
Rachael Nelson is a professor of exercise science at CMU. She said MHC has several services they offer to patients.
“Mobile Health Central can be divided up into three exam rooms at the same time,” Nelson said. “It has a fully functioning sound booth for hearing testing … it's versatile and we can take on and off kind of portable equipment to provide specialized services.”
The vehicle is also Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint to ensure they are able to serve as many patients as possible.
MHC can have up to two doctors and six students at a time while operating. Nelson said the main priority of the mobile clinic is to help underserved communities and to allow students the opportunity to gain real world experience in the medical field.
“One is actually providing clinical care right and so getting that experience,” Nelson said. “The other is working with special populations, whether that be someone with a unique situation where they're temporarily seeking housing right or have a special condition. With the sports physicals gives them a chance to interact with middle school and high school students.”
Other universities across the state such as Michigan State University and the University of Michigan also have mobile clinics that help serve their surrounding communities and give students real-world experience
Rachael Nelson says mobile clinics like these may be the future of healthcare.
“Prior to mobile health clinics like this, it's on the patients to get to whatever site they need to receive those medical services,” Nelson said. “This kind of flips the script and it's an opportunity for those healthcare services to meet the patient where they're at.”
MHC also can be stationed at local areas such as county fairs, community centers and local government facilities for various events.
Event request forms can be completed on their website.
