MANSFIELD — Richland Public Health is stepping up its community outreach with a new mobile unit prepared to travel across the county.
“This mobile unit significantly increases our ability to provide quality public health services to all corners of Richland County,” said health commissioner Dr. Julie Chaya.
“We will primarily focus on health screenings and vaccinations with this unit, but further into the future, we will definitely be expanding all of our services to be available on the mobile clinic.”
The Richland Public Health board celebrated the arrival of the mobile clinic on Friday afternoon with a ribbon cutting.
County commissioner Tony Vero said the mobile unit will help fulfill the agency’s motto of “‘Prevent. Promote. Protect.”
“What better way to do that than to have a mobile unit that can travel and meet the health needs of our community,” Vero said.
Chaya noted that the mobile unit can travel to any event or location in the county besides the City of Shelby, which is served by the Shelby City Health Department.
The mobile unit was paid for with grant money from the Ohio Department of Health.
“We’re really excited to provide a service to our community and try to reduce any kind of disparities in access to healthcare in our area,” Chaya said.
Public Health nurses will administer free health screenings that include multiple blood tests and educational resources on different community supports.
The mobile clinic has two private exam rooms, a bathroom and handicap access for those who use wheelchairs. It is equipped with a refrigerator to store vaccines.
For additional information on the mobile clinic, those interested can call the health department at 419-774-4761 or learn more about community health screenings online at richlandhealth.org.