Affordable health care offered out of an RV

Hayden Hunter

the advocate

 

Affordable health care could be coming soon to MHCC, in the form of an RV.

ASG President Alma Pacheco has been working with Wallace Medical Concern to bring its portable medical facility on campus several times a month. Service could begin by the end of May.

“Wallace Medical Concern started off as an emergency medical service, but pretty much turned into a primary care clinic,” said Pacheco.

Wallace’s mobile medical van service was designed to serve low-income families on their own turf. “They go wherever their services are needed,” said Pacheco, who has been a Wallace patient since 2008.

“My father volunteers and is part of the board. My whole family is involved” with Wallace, she said.

Pacheco said she thought it made sense to partner and engage with Wallace at Mt. Hood.

“I feel like our community is in need of the mobile clinics. We don’t have a nurse on campus,” she said. The van would be available to both students and community members. “Wallace is meant for anyone, insured or uninsured.”

Pacheco said walk-in customers are asked several questions when they arrive. “Your co-pay is based on those answers,” she said. Wallace is required by law to ask for a co-pay; she said she believes the minimum is $20. However, “Wallace does focus on giving their service to anyone who needs it, so (the co-pay) isn’t enforced,” she added.

Pacheco’s goal is to bring the van to both the main Academic Campus in Gresham and the Maywood Campus “once a week.”

To get the mobile van on campus, Pacheco had to talk Al Sigala, MHCC’s Foundation & Alumni Relations executive director. She learned no funding was available, but said that fact soon became a non-issue. “It didn’t cost (the college) anything,” she said.

One hurdle ASG did face was that Wallace officials wanted to be sure that the service was legitimately needed on campus.

“So they asked us, ‘Why is Mt. Hood the best place for a mobile van?’ ” Pacheco said. I said, ‘There are a lot of minority communities on campus, and a lot of them need help.’ ”

Currently ASG is working with Mt. Hood’s ESL, ENL, GED, and ABE programs on the service. They have already put out a survey asking when would be the best days and times for Wallace to serve the campus.

The survey will close on Friday, May 8. The information will be used to produce a schedule that suits both MHCC community members and Wallace’s mobile medical van.