Illinois gets its first mobile school health clinic
April 10 sees the rollout of a new medical and mental health program to serve approximately 1,200 students at West Frankfort and Benton high schools. Services will be delivered by Care-A-Van, a 40-foot-long mobile medical clinic, just arrived at the Southern Illinois University (SIU).
The mobile school health clinic is the brainchild of Dr. Penny Tippy, professor of family and community medicine and director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Southern Illinois School of Medicine, in Carbondale, Illinois.
“Second- and third-year residents are required to get out of the traditional role of the doctor and learn how to work within the community,” said project coordinator Robynn Nawrot. Resident family physicians will be on board Care-A-Van.
Dr. Tippy and her all-woman team of three health professionals can now add “truck driver” to their résumés. Each holds a commercial vehicle license as required by the state.
“From the beginning, Dr. Tippy always wanted the rural health clinic to be a mobile unit,” said Ms. Nawrot. “It’s been three years to the month since we started planning.”
At first, there was no money. Dr. Tippy sought input from business, community, and local government leaders. The top need was soon identified: mental health care, followed by medical and dental services.
Funding for the vehicle purchase was not straightforward. Some funds for planning came from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Patrick Quinn. A year-and-a-half after “almost” succeeding with one organization, grants became available through Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF).
ILCHF is a new state-wide funding agency in Illinois, and the only one with a focus on children’s health. “There are severely underserved populations in rural parts of the state, primarily down state. So, we were trying to pay special attention to those applicants,” said Susan B. Kerr, president of ILCHF.
ILCHF wanted to send a message that they are statewide, and willing to look at a variety of programs. “We were going over 300 requests for proposals during our first grant cycle, but the mobile program application jumped out at me. I’ve been an enthusiastic supporter of mobile health for a long time,” said Ms. Kerr.
Illinois Department of Human Services, School Health Division awarded an annual grant to assist with the cost of operations. “It’s not a free clinic. Those with either state or private insurance will be billed, but no one will be turned away if they have no insurance,” said Ms. Nawrot. “The SIU School of Medicine is committed to the success of the Care-A-Van.”
Ohio-based specialty vehicle manufacturer LifeLine Mobile Inc. built the Care-A-Van. On board are a laboratory, and two exam rooms. One will be used for counseling or medical examinations. The mobile unit has its own wireless internet connection. The students at both high schools created the exterior artwork—one design on each side.
“LifeLine came highly recommended. They willingly invested a lot of time with us before we even had funding. But we knew we were going to get it [funding],” said Ms. Nawrot. “Lifeline was extremely patient, and they were able to make changes as we changed our minds. They made good suggestions. Sometimes we could afford their suggestions and sometimes we couldn’t. We had to work within our budget.”
It took three years to get SIU School of Medicine’s program on the road, but now Dr. Tippy’s dream has become reality. Persistence plus passion pays.
cr @ April 5, 2006