New mobile care clinic already making a difference Cathy Dobson Sarnia-Lambton’s new mobile care clinic has only been on the road for six weeks and already it is attracting line-ups.
New mobile care clinic already making a difference
Cathy Dobson
Sarnia-Lambton’s new mobile care clinic has only been on the road for six weeks and already it is attracting line-ups.
A typical shift will include clients with diabetes, or high blood pressure, open wounds and substance abuse issues, says nurse practitioner Cheryl DeGroot.
“The uptake has been really good,” said DeGroot who works aboard the 34-foot custom build mobile unit three days a week.
“We’ve already given out a fair amount of harm reduction supplies, seen some critical blood pressure issues, mood disorders and a fair number of wounds.
“In the county, there are a number of older farmers with no primary care providers and in Sarnia, we see people with no fixed address or who are underhoused, DeGroot said.
“I asked one guy where he lives and he pointed and said, ‘Under that tree over there.’”
DeGroot worked for years in a medical room at the Good Shepherd Lodge and said she dreamed about having a mobile unit to care for people across Sarnia-Lambton.
“I always said we need to be where the people are,” she said.
And now it’s happening.
Three organizations including Bluewater Health, Lambton-Kent Canadian Mental Health Association, and the North Lambton Community Health Centre, collaborated to secure $325,000 in capital to have the unit built. A second one was purchased for Chatham-Kent.
The units each have an interview room, a fully-equipped and fully-accessible examination room, washrooms, wound care supplies and antibiotics. Intake is done at a table set up outside.
“I can do everything on the bus that I can do in my clinic,” said DeGroot. “I’ve done PAP smears on homeless people and caught serious changes, then referred them to a specialist.
“This is a place where they can come and get treatment without judgement. I’ve had people walk away in tears because someone’s listened to them and they feel heard.”
The mobile unit is staffed “in kind” by the three organizations and that makes it unique in the province, said the CMHA’s acting CEO Rhonny Doxtator.
For now, it is wheeling across Sarnia Lambton three days a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, rotating locations in Sarnia, Watford, Alvinston, Thedford, Stony Point and Kettle Point. For details on the schedule, visit https://sl.mobilecareclinic.ca/.
If more funding becomes available, more days will be added, said manager Nicole Polak.
But for now, the new mobile unit is proving there is a big need in medical care right across the county.
“We are in such high demand,” said the CMHA’s Andria Appeldoorn. “Everyone wants us everywhere.”
Services are free. Health cards and appointments are not required.
Some locations see one or two clients in a four hour shift. Others see 12 or more.
The numbers are growing, said Polak. “It’s about developing trust with clients and building that relationship.
“We saw a gap in our system and it warms me that it’s being filled now. We are bringing a little dignity back into their lives,” she said.
“It’s all about removing barriers to care for rural people,” said Doxtator. “We’re not sure how many people will use it but we’re very excited about the early numbers.”
It’s projected that the mobile unit team will have 800 to 1,000 client visits in its first 12 months, she added.
“We’re really excited to see it on the road. One of the great things is the partnerships and that everyone was willing to come forward to make this happen.”
