Little Jackie Jimenez laughs as nurse practitioner Deborah Heuerman pokes her tummy during an exam in the new Ravenswood Mobile Health Clinic at Belle Haven School in Menlo Park.
This is wonderful, says her mother, Maricela Vega of East Palo Alto; mostly, Jackie cries when she goes to the hospital. Doctors at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital called her “miracle baby” when she was born six years ago weighing one pound. Since then, she has had six surgeries for intestinal complications.
Jackie’s mood was contagious March 15, as the Ravenswood Family Health Center dedicated the freshly painted van, refurbished as a mobile clinic, fully equipped with two private examination rooms.
The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital donated the van to the Ravenswood Family Health Center, which has been providing comprehensive health services to East Palo Alto and neighboring communities since 2001.
In 2005, 7,200 people made more than 22,000 medical visits to the center, said CEO Luisa Buada.
The hospital is also providing $150,000 a year for three years to the mobile clinic, which has already been visiting schools in the community for several years. Packard CEO Christopher Dawes noted the new mobile clinic will help overcome many common barriers to obtaining health care in the heavily low-income and minority communities: “lack of time; limited transportation options; and a feeling of medical ‘homelessness’ related to inconsistent medical care.”
The van will come to schools so that children and their families can get medical attention without long waits, said Ms. Buada at the dedication party. “Our children are their children. This will be a seamless system.”
Marked with a perky black raven wearing roller skates, the mobile clinic will spend two days a week at each of four schools in the Ravenswood School District, including Belle Haven and Willow Oaks schools in Menlo Park.
On Thursdays it will visit parks, where the nurse practitioner and medical assistant will treat the homeless and refer them to other services.
The Ravenswood center will continue Packard programs, including on-site vaccinations and physical exams for children. “By making theses available on school grounds, we reduce the amount of lost class time,” Ms. Buada said. “In addition, siblings and parents of students have convenient access to medical care, including family planning and annual examinations for women, and developmental checks for toddlers.”
The professional staff will also screen students and family members for chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes, and for sexually transmitted diseases.
In addition, clinic staff can help patients identify and apply for health insurance. “Every kid is entitled to health insurance,” said Laurie Bauer of Menlo Park, nurse for the 12-school Ravenswood district.
Over the past four years, children’s health care in the Ravenswood district has dramatically improved, Ms. Bauer reported. The immunization rate has gone from 25 percent to 100 percent, and the examination rate for first-graders has gone from 50 to 90 percent.
