“I have a doctor’s appointment so will be tied up for a bit tomorrow.”

I imagine that nearly all of us have either heard or said something similar (or perhaps both) at some point in our lives.  As we age, what were once occasional visits to the doctor seem to increase measurably in frequency.  Whether it’s for our parents, ourselves, or other family members, the singular doctor often evolves to doctors, the term specialist gains newfound significance, and coupled with words such as out-of-network, copays, and out-of-pocket maximum, a now somewhat familiar conversation becomes an ongoing source of concern and potential aggravation.

I was mulling over such things on the drive over to the mobile health clinic (MHC) fabricator, Mobile Concepts, in Mt. Pleasant, PA, where the new audiology van was ready to be picked up.  The group of us from BBF, the Eye & Ear Foundation (EEF), UPMC, and the University of Pittsburgh, were excited about the impact it would make to assist the elderly and other underserved community members. It seemed like the perfect complement to run in collaboration with the EyeVan, which BBF had previously donated to EEF.  

After the customary pleasantries, pictures, and technical overview, Chris Simon, the CEO of Mobile Concepts showed us a Primary Care mobile clinic which was built as a demo but available for sale.  As we all walked over to look at it more closely, the conversation turned to how this MHC could in fact be ideal for a free clinic based in downtown Pittsburgh. To further underscore this point, the clinic had just seen a patient who had walked over seven miles to come to a medical appointment. Having the ability to go out into the community in collaboration with the eye and audiology MHCs to address patient needs would indeed be invaluable. Perhaps the perfect complement to the EyeVan included not only the audiology van but also a primary care mobile clinic.  Given such potential need, our follow up conversations with the free clinic began in earnest and they are now evaluating how to staff and run the MHC.

Not long after our virtual meetings with the staff members of the free clinic, I received a call from the very gracious executive of a local bank foundation which had helped fund the audiology mobile clinic. To paraphrase his question, would BBF be interested in developing a mobile clinic to be run by physicians and med students from one of our local medical schools to assist underserved communities? Given the needs previously outlined, our answer could not have been anything but a resounding yes. We would be honored and delighted to do so.

Soon thereafter, an article in the Pittsburgh Business Times titled: “Report: Five western Pennsylvania hospitals among those at risk from healthcare legislation”, presented itself as a must read.  Leaving politics aside and focusing on BBF’s mandate to help others, the July 25th piece by Paul J. Gough, referenced a study on rural hospitals done by the University of North Carolina’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. The fact that all five hospitals mentioned in Pennsylvania were in Western PA made the significance of BBF’s mobile clinic program in our rural communities even more relevant. 

Given such need in both urban and rural settings and the meaningful impact of BBF’s mobile clinic program becoming increasingly apparent, we are now exploring additional ways to fund and deploy more MHCs with our partners. These efforts are, of course, in addition to BBF’s ongoing relief work around the globe. 

We couldn’t be more appreciative of your support in allowing us to help others in need – be it near and far. Thank you, as always, for your kindness and generosity!