The Multnomah County Health Department’s Mobile Medical Clinic is running out of gas.
The County has announced that the van, which delivered medical care to at-risk populations throughout the county, has not been able to secure sustained funding to continue operating past June 30. This will be a significant loss to the people who are unable to travel to health care facilities or, because of their circumstances, did not feel safe in traditional clinic waiting rooms. Here’s the complete text of the letter from Kim Harris Tierney with the County Health Department:
March 4, 2009
Dear Community Partner,
The Multnomah County Health Department’s Mobile Medical Clinic (Van) has been in operation now for almost three years serving the county’s medically underserved population. During this time, the Mobile Medical Van has served over 3000 people, providing access to medical, behavioral health and dental services. Support for this program has been provided by generous grants from the Bureau of Primary Health Care, United Way, Providence and Pacific Source as well as county general fund dollars. These grants are ending in June of this year and we have been unsuccessful in securing new funding sources. Due to current budget constraints, the county is no longer able to provide general fund dollars for this program. As a result the Mobile Medical Van will discontinue operations as a Multnomah County Health Department program after June 30, 2009.
We are in the process of seeking a community partner to operate the Van to continue to serve as an access point for medically underserved clients. In the interim, the Health Department will be working with those clients who currently utilize the Mobile Medical van as their primary care clinic, to transition them to other health department or community clinics. We will have more specific information to share with you as the transition date grows closer
I want to thank you for your ongoing support of this program. Together we have done a lot of good work and served people who most needed the help. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at 503-988-5140 * 22850.
Sincerely,
Kim Harris Tierney, Program Manager
Multnomah County Health Department
Health Care for the Homeless Program/ Westside Health Center