Senior living communities will be among those benefiting from the launch of a mobile healthcare clinic in Kentucky, bringing a fully equipped exam room and telehealth services to residents.
OnRequest Louisville launched the mobile clinic to connect brick-and-mortar healthcare providers with senior living communities, businesses and rural communities. The mobile clinics partner with healthcare professionals to bring primary care to their patients where they live or work. The clinic also is offering access to telehealth services.
A spokesperson told McKnight’s Senior Living that the model allows physician practices to sign up for a series of eight-hour days to focus care in specific areas in their local communities.
“We act as a ‘connector’ between a practice and its patients — bringing our clinics into action and managing the logistics of the mobile clinic itself,” the spokesperson said. “The providers focus on their patient relationships and care delivery.”
OnRequest was created by retired Humana alumnus Buddy Stewart to connect hard-to-reach patients with medical care and help reduce health inequities. Local and state organizations have expressed an interest in using the mobile clinics.
“Every community can benefit from a mobile clinic presence. Our vision for mobile units is to increase access to an effective, memorable and human encounter, improving patient experience,” Stewart said. “By reaching more communities and patients using mobile, these experiences will improve patient outcomes.”
Co-founder Kevin McCarron said that the mobile clinic is a unique subscription service, offering flexible and responsive plans for providers.
“With a professional driver and vehicle support, ONR’s subscription approach to mobile clinic outreach empowers practitioners to focus on equality of care — not on costly vehicle management, driver logistics or equipment maintenance,” he said.
OnRequest has one mobile clinic in service, with two more in production. They use the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis with standard medical-grade equipment on board and can travel to nearly any location. The clinics are ADA-accessible with a wheelchair lift, modular equipment, adjustable exam table, blood draw chair, refrigeration for vaccine storage and WiFi connectivity for telehealth.
