Yuma Regional Medical Center unveils its new mobile health clinic

Editor's note: A previous version of this article mentioned these services are free, but they are not free. YRMC says it will bill the patient’s insurance. If the patient does not have insurance, YRMC will work to enroll them with AHCCCS. AHCCCS provides coverage of the cost of care.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) unveiled its new mobile health clinic that will be used to provide medical services to underserved communities in Yuma.

We learned what exactly locals will get from the mobile clinic.

YRMC gave us a glimpse at this new medical health clinic and says that it will initially be used to provide local students with access to regular medical check-ups, vaccinations, and other services.

Margie Dallabetta, the Chairman of the YRMC Foundation, says "We have many people that are underserved in our community and again we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity at quality health…and we're extremely pleased, it will help our community.

The Foundation of YRMC recognized their donors Epic Systems, Vizient, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBS of AZ) for their support of the mobile health clinic.

In total, they contributed $60,000 for renovations, maintenance, and supplies.

Renee Dinwiddie, the BCBS of AZ Southwest Regional Service Manager, says "The foundation sponsorship to Yuma Regional is to get this up and going…The inside is going to be updated and upgraded to help these kids and get them in and out…They'll have the supplies and equipment to do these assessments and maybe prefer them to other providers in the area as needed."

The first stop for this mobile clinic will be between Roosevelt Elementary School and Fourth Ave Junior High School.

Dr. Ludny Charles, the YRMC 3rd year Family Medicine Resident, says "These three locations are some of the areas that are pretty underserved a lot of the students that we connected with don't always have the rides to come to the doctor's office to do these wellness visits, a lot of them want to play sports, so being there in the community will be very helpful for them."

The unit will be staffed by two YRMC Resident Doctors who have already been working with the schools through the hospital's School Healthcare Program.

Dr. Charles adds "What we've been doing over the last year was just involving ourselves in the school as part of the community medicine rotation and during that, we were doing a lot of mentoring, teaching kids about medicine, and other healthcare fields."

To Dr. Charles, this mobile clinic is not only more accessible but also more inviting.

She states, "It could be quite daunting to go into a doctor's office so any kind of questions that they may have about their body, about science, and even math because we go into to that subject, were just a lot more accessible for them."

The hospital says it plans to utilize the unit for other outreach programs and community events including marathons, sporting competitions, and the Special Olympics.

The mobile health clinic will be up and running by August at the beginning of the school year and you may see more than one in the near future.