Terri Frederick, registrar for the MedStar Health Mobile Health Center, greets a patient.
After many years with the same health insurance provider, Claudette Wilder, 65, discovered one day that the company had canceled her coverage without notice.
“I didn’t know what to do or where to go to find a new doctor,” says the resident of Brooklyn Park, Maryland. “But then, almost like it was sent from heaven, I saw this van in my neighborhood.”
The van is the MedStar Health Mobile Health Center. This medical center-on-wheels was launched in January 2021 with generous philanthropic partners, including the Baltimore Ravens, the France-Merrick Foundation, and Under Armour founder and executive chairman Kevin and his wife D.J. Plank.
The MedStar Health Mobile Health Center provides quality care to underserved communities around MedStar Harbor Hospital in Baltimore. Community members can stop by the mobile center to receive various medical services, such as urgent care, primary care, wellness and OB/GYN exams, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and education, flu and tetanus shots, school-required athletic physicals, and referrals for substance- abuse treatment. It operates four days a week and makes eight stops throughout South Baltimore, including local schools and community recreation centers.
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“We’re trying to make health care as accessible as possible for everyone,” says Kelli McCallum, nurse practitioner, and operational field manager for the MedStar Health Mobile Health Center. She adds that many community members do not receive proper care due to lack of transportation and lack of comfort and trust in traditional health care settings.
“Whether it’s undocumented residents who are uncomfortable engaging in the health care system or those who feel others may judge them in a traditional hospital or doctor’s office, they feel more relaxed here because it’s a smaller, more personal space,” McCallum adds. “Our mobile unit is a team of three. And it’s the same three consistent faces each time they visit, not a large group of strangers.”
The team of three consists of McCallum, community health advocate Shari Turner and registrar Terri Fredericks.
Turner says most residents are surprised to learn that the mobile center is a full-service medical clinic. Claudette Wilder says she was indeed impressed once she stepped inside.
“I couldn’t believe I could just walk in and be seen right away, and that it’s such a nice facility,” Wilder says. “It’s like a hospital that comes right to you — I get all of my basic healthcare needs covered.”
Wilder says she also received her COVID-19 vaccinations at the clinic, after her initial concerns about the vaccine’s safety were addressed by staff.
“A lot of us in the community were concerned about getting the shot. We had a lot of questions,” she says. “I told all of my neighbors to go to the mobile clinic to talk to the professionals because they would give them facts about the vaccine, not rumors.”
At its peak, the MedStar Health Mobile Health Center administered 150-200 vaccinations per day in early 2021, McCallum says, and even set up a site at Laurel Park racetrack to vaccinate the horse trainers, jockeys, caretakers, and other race track staff.
“By bringing these resources to their doorstep like this, we’re building trust and connections in our community,” she says. “That’s an important first step.”