SAN MATEO COUNTY: Mobile Unit Reaches Out to Indigent
One of the easiest ways for the poor and uninsured of San Mateo County to receive health care is through the county's mobile health van. Funded by county and federal funds, the van employs a nurse practitioner and other nurses who test for various illnesses, provide family planning and refer patients to local medical clinics. The van's busiest site is East Palo Alto, but it also travels to Redwood City, Daly City, San Mateo, Pacifica, South San Francisco, Pescadero and Half Moon Bay. The San Mateo County Times reports that most people visit the mobile clinic for HIV tests or other STD screening. The incidence of HIV infection in East Palo Alto is so high that mobile clinic workers give high-risk patients $5 food vouchers to get tested and $10 vouchers to return a week later to receive the test results (Sommerfeld, 3/1).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.