Porter County Health Department rolls out new mobile health unit – Chicago Tribune

The Porter County Health Department has a goal of meeting people where they are. With the unveiling of its new Mobile Health Clinic Tuesday afternoon, they’ll soon be hitting the road and taking that literally.

Porter County Health Officer Dr. Maria Stamp told a crowd of about 35 gathered for the unveiling of the clinic in Central Park Plaza that transportation to the health department’s two brick and mortar offices in Valparaiso and Portage is a real challenge for many county residents. “Over and over we hear from the groups we collaborate with and groups we work with and we recognize the need ourselves,” she said.

Places like Hebron, Kouts and other locales farther from the county seat can now be better served. “For those people, this mobile clinic is for you,” Stamp said.

Samantha Burgett, police resources and outreach coordinator for the Porter County Sheriff’s Department, said she had no idea how many services the health department offered until she began as the social worker for the Valparaiso Police Department in 2021. She said she utilizes the health department heavily to help Porter County residents, but transportation and child care weren’t taken into account when considering how residents can get to health department services.

The clinic’s first booking is a standing appointment the last Friday of every month to serve the clients of the Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) at either the parking lot of the main branch of the Porter County Public Library in Valparaiso, or Living Hope Community Church, also in Valparaiso. “This is really the community’s way of meeting their needs in a nonthreatening way,” said Sheila Paul, director of the Porter County Health Department.

The clinic will alternate between the two HOST sites to offer pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease testing. The Valparaiso Fire Department will also be present to offer blood pressure and heart rate screenings.

Other services the clinic can provide include childhood lead testing; smoking cessation; management of chronic diseases; and food safety education. The health department hopes to hear from community organizations to help them determine what the needs are and where.

Valparaiso University, for example, requested the clinic come to campus to offer student vaccinations. Requests like these will start filling the schedule. “For the first year we don’t have a set goal,” Paul said.

The 27-foot-long, 11-foot-tall unit is shaped like a minibus and boasts a full-size, fully equipped exam room, a blood draw chair, restroom, waiting area, and medical refrigerator. Public health nurses, an environmental specialist, a food safety specialist and a vital records specialist are the staff that will be aboard.

Porter County Director of Nursing Connie Rudd is the main driver so far, though Paul said others on staff have been practicing driving the clinic at the Porter County Fairgrounds. A CDL is not required to drive the minibus, but it’s not exactly a usual part of the health care provider skill set for the health department.

That’s changing as mobile health units grow in popularity. The Indiana State Department of Health was lending their mobile unit out during the pandemic.

Porter County is still ahead of the curve as one of the first in the state to get one. Paul said she was able to meet with health officials from Tippecanoe County who already have a mobile clinic to get advice about what to include and what they would do differently.

The unit cost $215,000 and was paid for with vaccine reimbursement funds. Paul said Jasper and LaPorte Counties are planning mobile clinics as well.

Porter County Councilman Greg Simms, D-3rd, said the county was all for a mobile unit when Paul suggested it. The county had already launched a mobile voting unit.

“Holy cow! That was a no-brainer. We gotta do it,” Simms told the crowd. “I am really looking forward to seeing this rig drive around town.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.