POSTED: June 28, 2022
Clatsop County has a new tool to make access to vaccines, testing and other basic health services easier for residents county-wide.
The county Public Health Department recently took delivery of a mobile health clinic. The vehicle will give staff the ability to better deliver services to people where they live and work, without the need to secure space in remote areas.
Funding for the $160,000 purchase comes from an Oregon Health Authority grant earmarked for COVID-related programs and services. The 2021 Ford, which features separate exam and blood-draw spaces, was purchased from an Ohio company that previously leased it to Columbia University in New York, and refitted for Public Health.
Acquiring a mobile clinic has been a years-long goal of the department. “We are a large county and Public Health is dedicated to meeting and serving people where they are. This van can help make that happen,” said Lisa McLean, nurse manager and clinic supervisor.
The van will initially be used to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to communities around the county in place of the drive-thru booster clinic previously offered by Public Health at Camp Rilea. Schedules for vaccine outreach events will be announced soon.
The department plans to expand services to student immunizations with the coming of the next school year, as well as offering other vaccines and communicable disease testing.
The new mobile clinic is part of the department’s mission to expand access to services, including through partnerships with other entities. These include the dental services van operated by Medical Teams International of Portland, which has made multiple visits to Clatsop County to offer not only dental care but also COVID-related services. The department has also teamed with Jewell School District on a new school-based health center, due to go into full operation this fall.
“Public Health has been recognized for the ways it leveraged COVID community partnerships to provide equitable access to testing and vaccination,” Interim Public Health Director Margo Lalich said. “The mobile clinic will increase that capacity.”