Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2023 - 29

MOBILE HEALTH / FEATURE
connected to community resources
and aim to improve outcomes well
beyond the hospital walls. " One
of
the great
things about having
grant and philanthropic funding is
being able to do some of those unusual
things to help and intervene
and get kids
the care
they need
beyond health care, " Hogg says.
By connecting patients to community
resources like speech therapy, food
banks and housing assistance, Le
Bonheur Children's mobile clinic has
helped kids learn how to communicate,
improve school performance,
and overcome behavioral health
challenges. Lurie Children's mobile
clinic has been used to provide sexual
health education, HIV and STI screenings,
and naloxone trainings and distribution
across Chicago.
Because mobile clinics build relationships
and trust with their communities,
they're also able to discover
and meet particular-and sometimes
unexpected-social needs. For example,
many children living in poverty
don't have access to new underwear,
which affects hygiene, self-esteem and
ultimately school performance. Texas
Children's mobile clinic partners with
the Houston nonprofit Undies For
Everyone and now provides a pack of
new underwear to every patient they
see. These small gestures, born out of
individual community needs, occur all
the time-a gas card, a pillowcase, a set
of books-and together they increase
patients' well-being and improve their
chances at long-term success.
The business case
Though the benefits to communities
are clear, the capital to start a
mobile clinic and the cash flow to
maintain it can be significant. But
hospitals are using creative funding
methods to ensure their efforts are
Lurie Children's
provides services in a
coverted ambulance to
Chicago Public Schools.
sustainable. In most cases, direct patient
revenue alone won't sustain the
ongoing operational costs of a mobile
health clinic. Most are financially
supported by a combination of sources,
including philanthropic partners,
parent health systems, and federal
and state grants. Lurie Children's, for
example, received a federal government
appropriation for an RV-sized
mobile unit they'll launch in 2023.
One of Texas Children's units was
donated by Ronald McDonald House
Charities and another by the Junior
League of Houston. In addition to donations
and grants, some children's
hospitals rely on billing insurance to
sustain their program while others
do not bill at all.
Although mobile health clinics
may not be profit centers, the Mobile
Healthcare Association and the Mobile
Health Map at Harvard Medical School
published a report last year ( " The Case
for Mobile " ) outlining the business
case of mobile health clinics. A mobile
clinic, for example, has lower startup
costs than a fixed-site clinic-and it
can venture to areas where demand is
high. By visiting a variety of places, it
recruits new business. And as it travels
throughout a city, the vehicle's wrap
raises both awareness and credibility.
Other benefits cited were increased
staff retention, financial incentives for
value-based care, and tax exemptions.
Although there are sound strategic
reasons for supporting a mobile
health clinic, those inevitably come
second to the true incentive: " There
are so many rewards to working on
a mobile clinic, " says Wallace. " You
know the work you're doing is important
and valued and that you are
making a difference. "
For Misra, the most rewarding thing
is the smiles on the parents' faces and
how thankful they are. " Even though
you can't change the entire world with
your mobile clinic, you can change the
lives of some people every day. "
Send questions or comments to
magazine@childrenshospitals.org.
CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Winter 2023
29
Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2023

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