Desert Healthcare District unveils new mobile clinic for pharmaceutical, counseling needs

A second "clinic on wheels" from the Desert Healthcare District will soon hit the streets of the Coachella Valley in an effort to continue to serve hard-to-reach communities.

The district held an unveiling for the new unit, a detachable trailer that is transported by truck, on Saturday. The trailer includes a private exam room, restroom, storage units and air conditioning. Unlike the first unit, the second mobile medical clinic will include a pharmacy and space for behavioral health counseling, both telehealth and in-person opportunities. Both mobile clinics will travel together, and separately at times, throughout the valley.

The pharmacy component was important to district officials in order to ensure patients have access to additional medical services without having to travel far, Desert Healthcare District and Foundation Interim CEO Chris Christensen said.

The second mobile clinic will roll out across the Coachella Valley on June 1.

The Desert Healthcare District, a local government agency, allocated $336,500 to purchase a mobile van in May 2021. After district officials deemed it a "success," the board went on to approve acquiring a second mobile clinic in July 2023. Both units were purchased using district grants and funding from the Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District.

The first mobile medical van includes two exam rooms with beds, a refrigerator to store vaccines and a restroom. The exterior also includes an awning that can extend several feet to provide shade.

Christensen said the first unit has served more than 8,000 Coachella Valley residents, primarily farmworkers, unhoused people and those who are "unable to make it to a normal brick and mortar care facility." It was also used during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to administer tests and vaccines to some of the hardest to reach communities in the valley, and continued to do so with COVID and flu vaccines later on. Other services available on board include check-ups and procedures, such as laceration repair or skin lesion treatment.

Desert Physicians Medical Group Health, a nonprofit organization of Desert Regional Medical Center's Family Medicine Residency program, will operate both units, and staff will include DPMG faculty physicians, medical residents, pharmacy residents, nursing students and medical assistants.

Christensen did not have a set schedule for the mobile units available on Thursday, but a district flyer stated that the mobile van travels Mondays through Fridays, and occasionally on Saturdays, from Desert Hot Springs to the far eastern valley to visit schools, farm fields and homeless encampments.

"We anticipate to take these mobile units wherever the services are deemed necessary," he said.

Other health care providers in the valley have incorporated mobile units into their services, most recently Eisenhower Health. Christensen said the district hopes to collaborate and partner with other providers in order to create a "more collective, collaborative approach to helping serve those that we're taking medical services to."

In addition to their work on the mobile units, DPMG Health staff members will also be able to serve patients at a nearly 1,000-square-foot, brick-and-mortar space located near the Desert Regional Medical Center campus at Las Palmas Medical Plaza. This space will serve as a central hub for the mobile units and will include services such as a pharmacy, a pediatric examination room and general examination room, outpatient minor procedures and behavioral health counseling.

The goal with the fixed clinic location, Christensen said, is to create continuity for patients so they know they have a site to go to for follow-ups. Additionally, he hopes both resources will have a positive impact on emergency rooms.

"Oftentimes with unhoused or those who are medically underserved, the emergency rooms are their medical home, so then it's clogged up in the emergency rooms," he said. "We're feeling that these medical clinic units will also help alleviate some of the wait times."

The clinic, located at 555 E. Tachevah Drive in Palm Springs, will be open to all patients on May 31. Hours of operation were not available immediately, nor was information about whether appointments are needed for the new space. Patients can visit www.dpmghealth.com or call 760-563-7801 for more information.

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Desert Healthcare District unveils second mobile medical clinic