Strategic Plan Update: Modernize and Expand Current Fleet: 4

When we started our Strategic Plan in 2019, we had three mobile units: a 13-year-old Asthma Van, a 7-year-old Asthma Van, and a 4-year-old Dental Van. At about the eight-year mark, the everyday wear and tear starts to get the better of a mobile clinic, so we had one vehicle that desperately needed to be replaced, and another one that was looking a little rough. Modernization and expansion of Mobile Care’s fleet of mobile clinics, then, was imperative to our organizations ongoing success. Modernizing our fleet allows us to:  

• Increase patient and provider safety through the use of negative pressure ventilation systems
• Improve patient care by replacing medical equipment and electronics with the current technology 
• Decrease our carbon footprint by powering our clinics with battery banks, greatly reducing our dependence on power though the combustion engine of a gas generator. In addition, the reduction of carbon emissions provides a cleaner environment for patients while on or near the clinic.

Expanding Mobile Care’s fleet allows for an increase in simultaneous medical and dental clinics, which positively impacts our overall patient capacity and continuity of care for new and current patients.  

Thankfully, we’ve not only made progress here, we’ve added a new level of innovation. We are still hoping to retire our (now 14-year-old) Asthma Van, but we are renovating the interior of our 8-year-old Asthma Van, we added a new Dental Van (avid readers will remember that, tragically, our previous Dental Van was lost to an electrical fire in October 2019), and added two new “Class C” mobile units.

These two new clinics, launched in the summer of 2021, are called “Flex Vans.” Unlike our other vehicles that are designed for one specific purpose, Flex Vans can support any one of MCC’s services on a given day.

Negative pressure ventilation has been added to two of our clinics, whose services have the highest risk of airborne pathogens. Converting all clinics to have all antimicrobial/non-porous surfaces is 75% complete. Three clinics have been outfitted with compartments for battery banks.  

Asthma Van remodeling and battery bank completion are currently underway. Modernization of the Asthma Van, including the addition of running water and layout changes, are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021. The completion of battery banks on all mobile units is scheduled for Feb. 2022.

Once the above items are completed, patient and provider experience will significantly improve via increased safety, improved clinic flow, and an improved air quality on and around the clinics. Furthermore, the move away from gas generators will reduce the costs of daily clinic operations in the long-term.  

-Ian Stark, Director of Programs