St. Luke's mobile care clinic visits Nampa elementary schools
NAMPA, ID (CBS2) — The St. Luke's mobile care unit is hitting the road, seeking to bring care to children throughout Nampa.
The mobile medical unit was built out of an RV, and it's set up to provide primary care services to schools. The unit is meant to help kids who might not be able to get care otherwise.
“The St. Luke’s Children’s Mobile Care Clinic will enable us to bring services to the vulnerable children in our community who don’t always have access to the medical services they need,” says Dr. Matthew Cox, St. Luke’s pediatrician and CARES medical director.
Transportation can be a major barrier to getting healthcare, St. Luke's says.
The clinic will visit elementary, middle and high schools in the west Treasure Valley area to administer pediatric care and vaccines and to provide education. Kids can be referred to the clinic through the school staff.
“We have a very large need in Nampa specifically for access to medical care," said Shelley Bonds, director of elementary schools for Nampa School District. "We have a lot of families that don’t have a foundational medical provider, so kids don’t have a doctor."
The unit will also partner with St. Luke's CARES team, which helps care for victims of sexual abuse.
“We’re going to service people in parts of our community that don’t get service at all," Bonds says. "There is immense gratitude for investing in something that is going to change the landscape of an entire community.”
In order to be treated at the clinic, kids will first need parents' verbal and written consent.
