Mobile Medical Initiative

Bringing Healthcare to Hard to Reach Communities
The Problem
At Gaffney Health Services, we pride ourselves on creating custom health initiatives that address the specific needs of the great states of North and South Carolina, each underserved county, and each underserved town and township. The United States Department of Health and Human Services has created the Health Resources and Services Administration or the HRSA. The HRSA develops shortage designation criteria to determine whether a geographic area, population group of facility is a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or a Medically Underserved Area/Population (MUA/P). HPSAs may be designated as having a shortage of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers. They may be urban or rural areas, population groups, or medical or other public facilities. MUAs may be a whole county or a group of contiguous counties, a group of counties or civil divisions, or a group of urban census tracts in which residents have a shortage of health services. MUPs may include groups of persons who face economic, cultural or linguistic barriers to health care..
Our Solution The Healthy People Initiative 2030
Mobile Units that travel to the patientDedicated staff: Family Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Assistant, Certified Medical AssistantEach unit is staffed to be sensitive to the service communitySpanish speakers for Latino Community Consistent availability to engage and build trustSocial worker connectivity for the unshelteredSimple medications to be delivered via mobile servicesConnection with local community churches as treatment sites
The Problem (cont.)
Barries to health access in Mecklenburg County, NC are primarily driven by high costs, lack of insurance (particularly among Hispanic residents), and transportation difficulties, with 1 in 4 adults lacking a primary care provider. Significant disparities exist, with only 18% of housing units near low-cost care and high rates of mental health, chronic disease, and, for many. Homelessness or housing instabilityKey Barriers include:High Costs & Insurance Gaps: 29% of residents citing cost; 45% of Hispanic residents lacking primary care providerProvider Shortages & Wait Times: shortage of providers, including mental health and substances use leads to fragmented careTransportation & Location: limited access to vehicles or public transit hinders accessSystemic & Linguistic issues: immigrant communities face language barriers, fear of deportation, confusing eligibility rules and discrimination, reducing accessHomelessness & Housing: a significant increase in the unsheltered population (35% increase since 2020) makes consistent care and prevention health management difficultProvider Availability: only 18% of county’s housing units are within a half-mile of a Medicaid provider or a free clinicFrom Mecklenburg County’s Community Health Assessment
Execution
Partnership with AME Zion Church to act as ambassadors to reach into communities of needPartnership with veterans groups to reach unhoused individuals in need of careFive mobile units to provide outreach into communities of need with availability on weekends Each unit overseen by centrally located physician to coordinate careDedicated Electronic Medical Record shared across mobile units and centralized hubVideo connection to allow telehealth to be delivered by centralized physician

Community Endeavors Provided

- Charlotte Mecklenburg high school physical examination volunteerism - Alpha Kappa Alpha Breast Cancer Awareness Fair and Mobile Unit in Collaboration with Novant Breast Mobile - Senior's On The Move Community Health Fair - Friendship missionary Baptist Church - Boy-scout Eagle Project's Troop 84 - Veterans Community Garden