Brooklyn Center Provides Needed Services with ‘Health on the Go’
Brooklyn Center is making health care more accessible for its residents.
Its Health on the Go program is popping up at local events, connecting patients with vital resources and offering free health screenings.
‘Health on the Go’ events will use a medpod, shown in this demonstration.
It is designed to reach communities that have limited access and resources to health care.
“We understand that here at Brooklyn Center some of our population can be hesitant to reach out to access that preventative care which is a major step in overall health,” said Brooklyn Center Communications Manager Joe Cardoza. “So we just want to meet residents halfway where they are so that can go to these community driven events and access these resources to help them maintain their health.”
No insurance is required and the services are free.
The program has been well received, attracting around 40 percent of participants at events.
“They see a nurse that looks just like them and ask questions that they may be too intimidated to ask their health care provider,” said Cardoza.
‘Health on the Go’ Equipment Makes a Big Impact
As part of Health on the Go, medical devices called Medpods make appearances at events like the city’s Juneteenth Celebration and Community Health Fair with trained nurses.
The Medpod may be small, but it’s a mighty piece of equipment.
Close up picture of medpod.
It checks blood pressure, oxygen levels, and pulse.
It can also connect to Wi-Fi, which comes in handy with diagnoses.
“We do have the capacity to do tele-health services through the medpods where we reach a licensed individual that can help community members,” says Cardoza.
In addition to Medpods, a mobile site is used to offer services like eye exams and wellness checks.
“At some of these events you’ll see what what we affectionately call our tiny house, which will provide a level of privacy and security for residents that want to access these health resources,” says Cardoza.
But the tiny house can’t always get to where the Medpods can.
“We aren’t able to take the tiny house everywhere year round especially when the snow starts to accumulate, but we are able to take year round the Medpods,” says Cardoza.
With these tools, Brooklyn Center city officials hope to give patients the information and care they need.
“We leave residents with a wellness check up slip so if there are numbers that are elevated, we refer them to some of our community partners where they can go and get some initial labs and work done and checkups,” says LaToya Turk, Brooklyn Center Director of Community Prevention, Health and Safety.
For upcoming ‘Health on the Go’ events go here.
