By Jon Chown
Dominican Hospital held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Mobile Wellness Clinic on Nov. 7.
The mobile clinic, which is basically an RV designed to provide medical care, is a key part of the hospital’s outreach to local residents who struggle to afford health care, said nurse practitioner Erin O’Connor, manager of the clinic.
“The vast majority of our patients are the working poor. They make too much to qualify for Medi-Cal but can’t afford insurance,” she said. “We are the last safety net for many, and we see everyone without cost.”
The need in Santa Cruz County is what inspired Sister Michaella Siplak to launch the Mobile Wellness Clinic out of Dignity Health’s Dominican Hospital in 2011. It serves about 2,500 patients annually, providing low-cost treatment, education and referrals to more services.
O’Connor said the clinic is able to screen for cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and more. It helps people manage chronic disease and also screens people for food insecurity.
The clinic makes routine visits to Davenport, Boulder Creek, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz and Pajaro, while also working with other health programs and entities to assist them. For instance, it collaborates with the Community Action Board to provide health care to farmworkers.
The new all-electric clinic has two exam rooms and a central reception area. O’Connor said having electricity will be really helpful, allowing physicians and patients in a quiet setting “without the hum and roar of a diesel generator.”
“I can finally retire my amplified stethoscope,” she said.
The new RV also has a bathroom, which O’Connor said will allow the clinic to post up nearly anywhere, whereas before there needed to be a bathroom close by.
The campaign to raise the $2.145 million needed for the clinic began in 2023.
“It’s community support that fuels this mobile wellness clinic,” said Anthony Pagliaro, director of philanthropy at Dignity Health.