Mobile Care Launches Children’s Health Van, Partnership with Presence Health

On September 23rd, Mobile Care Chicago and Presence Health will launch a new mobile clinic called the “Children’s Health Van” to help low-income children receive access to an impressive range of medical services including immunizations and child physicals, in addition to Mobile Care’s existing specialty care for children with asthma and allergies.

“Every year there are children kept out of CPS schools for lack of required immunizations and physicals,” explained Mobile Care’s CEO, Tim Egan. “Overwhelmingly, these children are in low-income areas where access is a barrier. The result is that kids already at an economic disadvantage are seeing that barrier impact their school attendance and health. Our goal, as always, is to knock down that barrier.”

Nearly 15,000 children were kept out of CPS schools in 2014 because they were not compliant with state mandates, and nearly 45,000 children were in jeopardy of medical suspension. The gap in health care access is often due to the absence of a reliable Primary Care Provider (PCP), an issue which Presence Health can address.

Presence Health will allow Mobile Care Chicago to make referrals to PCP’s inside of its service area, allowing the new Children’s Health Van to treat both the immediate need of the child and the systemic need for on-going access to a health care provider. The initial service range for the expansion will coincide with the service area for Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center.

Mobile Care Chicago is a non-profit organization which provides no-cost medical and preventative care, education, and support to low-income children and families aboard mobile clinics. The organization maintains, in addition to the Children’s Health Van, an Asthma Van and two Dental Vans. All told, Mobile Care Chicago’s clinics provide health care to over 5,000 children per year.

Presence Health is the largest Catholic health system based in Illinois, offering more than 150 locations around the state. Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center has been delivering compassionate medical care for over 100 years, and now includes 500 physicians in 40 specialties.

For more information, please contact Matt Siemer, Director of Operations, at msiemer@mobilecarefoundation.org