Cleveland Clinic Adding 2nd Mobile Unit to School Telehealth Program

The Cleveland Clinic is launching a second mobile health vehicle equipped with telehealth and mHealth tools to help students in northeast Ohio access care at their schools.

Using a $2 million donation from the Mejier supermarket chain, the health system will be sending the vehicle, which acts as a full-service pediatric office, to K-12 schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, East Cleveland, Step Forward Greater Cleveland, Maple Heights, Warrensville Heights and Lakewood.

The Cleveland Clinic Children’s program, heading into its second year, is part of emerging national trend of using mobile health vans and specially equipped vehicles to bring health and wellness and primary care services to selected locations, such as underserved neighborhoods, community centers, business and retail centers, senior living communities and schools.

The programs are especially important during the coronavirus pandemic, which is pushing care away from hospitals and other healthcare sites and spurring an interest in connected health services in alternate locations, including the home.

During the last school year, the program saw 1,894 patients pass through its first mobile health unit, where students were treated for acute and chronic illnesses and given immunizations, physicals and health and wellness services.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, officials have added services in the mobile health unit, including follow-up care and educational resources on adolescent health, dental health, hygiene and other topics.

“We know education is a social determinant of health and can have a lifelong impact on a person’s health and wellbeing,” Roopa Thakur, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician and medical director of Cleveland Clinic Children’s school-based healthcare program, said in a press release. “Missing school due to health concerns, or not accessing care because you don’t want to miss school, can disrupt a child’s long-term health and development. Our program aims to help combat this by offering pediatric healthcare services while also ensuring kids stay in school and parents don’t miss work for an office visit.”