PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – New cars are ready to hit the streets on Pittsburgh's Northside. This van is worth celebrating because it's more than just a means of transportation.
This is a clinic on wheels that provides medical care to all parts of the community.
“We know that 80 percent of health happens outside the office and certainly outside the hospital,” said Dr. Amy Crawford Faucher of Allegheny Health Network. “Having a small mobile van is helpful because it allows us to move more directly through the streets of Pittsburgh than the larger vans we've seen.”
This mobile clinic is intended for Pittsburgh and, most importantly, for all communities.
“It's tough. There are a lot of barriers to getting treatment,” Dr. Faucher said. “There are a lot of barriers. Anything we can do to alleviate that and build connections can help some of the significant health disparities in some communities in Pittsburgh.”
This mobile clinic focuses on providing free primary care to everyone. Thank you to AHN, Highmark, and the nonprofit Brother's Brother Foundation.
“You can go where people are for vaccinations, eye exams, blood pressure checks. It helps build those bonds that are really important,” Faucher said.
This is the latest flexible and creative idea to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is not the first project undertaken by the Brothers Brother Foundation.
“We're on the North Side of Pittsburgh, but you don't have to go far from here to see the needs of people on the street who are clearly in need,” said Ozzie Samad, president of the Brothers Brother Foundation. Told. “We wanted to make an impact in our community.”
Since 1958, the nonprofit has grown to provide medical supplies for disaster relief teacher training worldwide, helped during a train derailment in East Palestine, and started a mobile clinic in Pittsburgh. Samad says it's something no one else was doing here.
“That's important to me because as our parents get older, thinking about this can be difficult to break free of,” Samad said.
You don't have to go far when the van comes. The first mobile clinic will be used for vision and diabetes screenings. The mobile Vision van actually headed to a homeless encampment under a bridge in the city.
Today, the nonprofit's health efforts are building bridges between businesses, doctors, and people living healthy lives.
“At the end of the day, people often don't go in the first place,” Samad said.
Thanks to the care of nonprofit organizations and our community, a worsening health problem is being solved.
“There is nothing we can do without the support of our viewers and the people in our community who care about us,” Samad said.
The mobile primary care clinic will be participating in the March of Dimes event this weekend on April 14th.
Several events are also planned throughout the spring and summer to help provide vaccines to several school districts.
The Brother Brother Foundation's next step is to procure a third mobile van, possibly battery-powered, in Pittsburgh to provide a quiet space for hearing tests and treatment for hearing loss.
To connect or donate to Brother's Brother Foundation, please visit our website.
If you would like to see your organization featured on KDKA's Sunday Spotlight segment, please email Megan Shinn. mshinn@kdka.com!
