Mayor Ed Murray announced a new walk-in mobile medical clinic July 6 that will operate at various sites around Seattle to fill the gaps in health care for the homeless community.
The van, a spacious Recreational Vehicle (RV) outfitted with a smaller version of the equipment found at a normal medical clinic, makes scheduled visits to various meal programs and community sites around Seattle where partner agencies help inform people about the care available aboard the mobile clinic.
The hot meal program at St. John Lutheran Church in Phinney Ridge hosted one of the van’s first stops July 5. Lee Harper, executive director of the Phinney Neighborhood Association, said St. John sees the health care needs of those who show up at the Hot Meals Program every week but can’t do anything about it.
“[It] will be great to refer people to somewhere that’s not downtown,” he said. “We can tell them to just walk outside.”
The new van is an extension of the Mobile Medical Program, which has used customized 27-foot RVs to bring walk-in medical, dental and mental health treatment to homeless or recently homeless people across seven suburban cities in South King County since 2008.
Patty Hayes, director of Public Health – Seattle & King County, said that people who use the South King County mobile clinic often report they haven’t seen a physician in years.
Inside the new mobile clinic, patients will receive assistance from a holistic team consisting of a physician, nurse, chemical dependency professional and mental health case manager. Staff will also connect clients with outside resources if necessary and help them apply for Medicaid if they are uninsured.
“We’re a bridge to other services,” Hayes said. “A bridge on wheels.”
Murray said this kind of multifaceted health care is key to getting people experiencing homelessness into stable housing.
The purpose of a mobile clinic is to meet people where they’re at, said Hayes. The van makes scheduled visits to food banks, homeless encampments, social-service agencies and other locations where homeless folks already gather.
Alisha Benish, manager of the Mobile Medical Van Program, said the team hopes to build a trusting relationship with clients through a consistent schedule.
“We keep showing up, and that’s the key to building rapport,” Benish said.
The van operates in four-hour blocks overlapping with existing service programs and provides service to eight to 10 patients per shift.
The Health Resources and Services Administration provided a $350,000 grant to renovate an RV into the mobile clinic. The city of Seattle will pay $500,000 in operating costs with an additional $110,000 coming from King County.
John Gilvar, program manager for Health Care for the Homeless at Public Health – Seattle & King County, said he estimates the operating costs will go up in 2017 because the van will be up and running for only the last seven months of 2016. From January to June of this year, the South King County van spent one day a week at some of the locations the new mobile clinic now serves.
“We’re hoping the funding [for 2017] will increase,” Gilvar said. “All the signs are pointing that direction.”