HEALTH CARE ON WHEELS

Our two mobile units visit nine sites in the county on a regular schedule bringing primary health care to people who would otherwise go without.  Our host sites include schools, community centers, shelters, soup kitchens, and churches. Our custom built mobile units are equipped as family doctor’s offices and staffed by primary care physicians and a nurse practitioner. All services are free for patients under 200% of poverty level and no one is ever turned away due to inability to pay. Our driver/intake workers screen and enroll patients in government programs which provide coverage for breast cancer screening, family planning, and well child exams. Our case manager assists patients in applying for broader health coverage as well as other benefits such as food stamps and social security disability. We operate our own pharmacy to provide medications free of charge to our patients who can’t afford them. We hold an after hours bilingual clinic to serve undocumented workers who are not eligible for government health programs and who can’t leave work to go to the doctor in the daytime without being fired. We are continually working to be responsive to the health needs of the underserved in our community.

MENTAL HEALTH

The MMO provides psychiatric assessment and medication management for our patients with mental illnesses, as well as counseling and case management for the homeless mentally ill. Our mental health services are integrated into our primary medical care and patients often receive treatment for physical and mental conditions at the same visit. In addition to our one-on-one mental health services, we run a weekly dual diagnosis life skills group at a local soup kitchen and a children’s art therapy group at a family shelter. A consulting psychiatrist provides specialty backup and our mental health team meets monthly to coordinate care. 

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES

Mobile Medical Office provides a wide spectrum of services for patients struggling with substance abuse, ranging from harm reduction to abstinence based treatment. We gain our patients’ trust and engage them in care by starting from where they are. For patients who are not ready to quit, we provide needle exchange, hepatitis vaccination, condoms, HIV and STD testing, and training in the use of Narcan to reverse heroin overdose. Our substance abuse counselor provides individual and group counseling and placement in clean and sober housing. We also provide medical detox and maintenance for opiate addicts with Buprenorphine, a methadone substitute 

PREVENTIVE DENTAL

MMO holds Preventive Dental Clinics on a rotating schedule at local family shelters and other clinic sites with high rates of childhood caries.  Services include oral health screening, education, application of fluoride varnish (a topical treatment which prevents cavities), and distribution of oral hygiene supplies and xylitol gum.

The Latino Health Promotion Project

The Latino Health Promotion Project of the Mobile Medical Office is a comprehensive health and wellness project for Latino patients in Humboldt County. The project staff consists of a Physician, Nurse, Counselor, two Promotoras de Salud (Community Health Workers) , a Medical Assistant, and the Project Director, all of whom are bilingual. We work as a team to offer quality healthcare and preventative care, nutrition and health education, chronic disease management, advocacy, referrals and follow-up support to specialists and social services, interpreting, free fluoride varnish clinics and oral health checks for children, diabetes support groups, exercise groups, diabetic eye exam clinics, insurance enrollment and, our most recent achievement, a community garden in Fortuna, CA. The project currently serves about 300 patients, but also affects the greater Latino and non-Latino community in numerous ways. We help to organize and facilitate the annual Latino Health Fair with LatinoNet and the Humboldt County Public Health Department, and our Diabetes Support Groups, Exercise Groups, Fluoride Varnish Clinics, Chronic Disease Self-Management classes (Pathways to Health, which is a program developed by Stanford University) and community garden are all open to the greater community. We all believe deeply that quality healthcare is a right, and are committed to offering a dynamic, ever-improving, culturally-appropriate and supportive program. For more information please contact Erin Mooney, LHPP Project Director @ emooney@mobilemed.org or 707-498-6170.

The Latino Health Promotion Project Community Garden, Fortuna, CA

The Mobile Medical Office is ECSTATIC to announce the start of our new community garden in Fortuna! During conversations in Diabetes Support groups in 2007 and 2008, many patients expressed great interest in improving their families' nutrition, health, and finances by growing their own food. Many of our patients were farmers or ranchers before coming to the US, or currently work on ranches in the Eel River Valley, and want to utilize that knowledge and skill.. Starting a community garden made sense on many, many levels--health, exercise, community building, reducing waste, and affirming our agricultural heritage. After two years of searching for a site, DanCo Builders generously donated the lease of a beautiful plot of land on Rohnerville Road. With four mature apple trees, two plum trees, a huge walnut tree, a chicken coop and lots of fertile soil, this wonderful site gives our patients, their families and community a huge jump-start on cultivating health. In September of 2009 we began clearing blackberries, constructing fences, fixing the large chicken coop, tilling, and planning. This Fall we hope to plant strawberries, garlic, lettuce and spinach, and cover-crop on the rest of our space to prepare for next year's growing season. In the Spring of 2010, we will begin our first full planting which will include traditional crops like nopales (a cactus that has blood sugar regulating properties), corn and blue corn, tomatillos, chiles, etc. All of our crops will be grown organically. We are partnered with the UC Ag. Extension program who will support us with supplies and expertise. We hope to construct a greenhouse, begin raising chickens and possibly other farm animals, and hold workshops and visits for local school children. Donations and volunteers are always needed and greatly appreciated! Supplies we need currently or will need by next spring are: gardening tools and equipment (the use of a tractor would be AMAZING!!!), building materials, seeds and starts, soil amendments, compost bins, a green house or any materials that could be used to build one, irrigation supplies, chicks and baby livestock...