OhioHealth Takes Wellness Clinic to the Streets
Council Supports OhioHealth Doctors’ Offices
on Wheels
[COLUMBUS-OH] This
month, OhioHealth will begin delivering primary care services to residents of
the Hilltop and surrounding areas through a mobile medical clinic called
Wellness on Wheels Primary Care.
A
ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate this new service will be held at the
Hilltop YMCA, 2879 Valleyview Drive, 10am on Thursday, January 26.
“OhioHealth
is a not-for-profit healthcare organization that has a charitable mission to
provide a high level of healthcare for anyone, regardless of their ability to
pay,” said Council President Zach Klein.
This
program was made possible thanks to a nearly $1-million grant from Huntington
Bank. In addition to providing medical care on the mobile medical clinic,
OhioHealth will be investing in excess of $500,000 into the community for this
pilot program.
“The
Wellness on Wheels mobile unit is a great example of this and will bring
critical primary care services directly to a population in need of them. We are
appreciative to see two strong community organizations in OhioHealth and
Huntington Bank working together to improve the health of residents in the
Hilltop,” Klein continued.
The
Wellness on Wheels vehicle has been in use for over 20 years providing
pre-natal care to pregnant women and girls with its staff of OB/GYN’s and
prenatal experts. Now, its role will be expanded.
On
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 7pm, OhioHealth family medicine
resident physicians, faculty physicians, nurses, a community health worker and
driver will travel to the Hilltop YMCA in the 54-foot mobile unit to provide
primary care.
The
clinic can see any adult patient for a comprehensive set of primary care
services including:
- Annual physicals and wellness examinations
- Preventive health, including screenings and
immunizations
- Management of chronic health conditions (including
diabetes, high blood pressure and others)
- Evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of medical concerns
Patients
will also have access to referrals for community resources for substance abuse
prevention and treatment.
There
are two patient exam rooms located within the mobile unit.
This
neighborhood was identified as an area of need for this pilot program due to a
lack of primary care physicians; an overuse of emergency departments for
lower-acuity visits; and because there is a trusted partner in the YMCA, which
community members are already using for other services.
“We
are thrilled to have found this creative way to eliminate barriers to crucial
primary care services,” said Doug Knutson, MD, a family medicine physician and
OhioHealth’s system vice president of academic affairs and chief academic
officer. “When people don’t have easy access to primary care, they are more
likely to use local emergency departments as their health care source. That’s
inefficient and expensive. We believe that providing a medical home in this
community will enable our patients to get excellent primary care, conveniently,
and in an appropriate setting.”
“Thanks
to the support of community partners like Huntington Bank and the YMCA of
Central Ohio, we will deliver care to some of the most vulnerable patients in
our community,” said Karen Morrison, president, OhioHealth Foundation and
senior VP of external affairs.
“Our
goal in this pilot program is to impact health outcomes among these patients,
while advancing our mission to improve the health of those we serve,” Morrison
continued.
Last
year, OhioHealth provided $278.7 million in charity care and other community
benefit programs through initiatives like the Wellness on Wheels.
In
addition to ongoing community benefit programs, OhioHealth has committed to
investing $7.3 million over the next five years in community-based health and
wellness programs including prenatal care and women’s health services, health
literacy, primary care, substance abuse prevention and treatment services.
Contact:
Katie Logan, Media Relations Mgr.
(o) 614-566-8855 or (c) 614-562-3994
[email protected]
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