In some rural parts of Licking County – including in villages such as St. Louisville, Utica and Homer – a trip to the doctor, a pharmacy or a hospital for routine medical care can take close to 40 minutes by car.
In other parts of the county, a trip to the doctor, a pharmacy or a hospital means taking time off work or away from children. Other barriers, including lack of transportation, housing status and cost of health care mean some Licking County residents aren’t receiving routine care.
The Licking County Health Department is trying to change that with a new set of wheels.
The LCHD Mobile Clinic, housed in a Mercedes Benz sprinter van, has been cruising Licking County since last April, providing immunizations, naloxone, health screenings, education, training and car-seat distribution to support rural Licking Countians.
The mobile clinic, purchased from Mobile Concepts in Pennsylvania, cost $222,087, which was fully funded with a grant from the Ohio Department of Health.
“I would say this definitely decreases some barriers for those that have trouble either finding transportation or just have no transportation at all,” said Kari Jones, director of community health and personal wellness for the Licking County Health Department. “Hopefully, we will be able to take some services to them that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive.”
Jones described the impact of the mobile clinic while in her office – housed in LCHD’s headquarters, the former Tuberculosis sanatorium off Price Road in Newark – alongside Kelly Hopkins, the mobile clinic coordinator and a public nurse at LCHD, and Julie Hill, the nursing manager and support in the mobile clinic.
While the van has been mostly at the LCHD headquarters during the winter months, Hopkins said the clinic will be out more frequently with the return of warmer weather.
“During the winter, it’s hard to utilize with the cold. A lot of the times when we go out, we have a table sitting outside for immunizations and the administration staff,” Hopkins said.
During the warmer months, it is not uncommon for the clinic to go out four to five times a month. It will park at local libraries, the Canal Market District in downtown Newark, and at events hosted around the county. And in 2024, according to the Licking County Health Department’s Annual Report, the mobile clinic made stops at the Hartford Fair, the Dawes Arboretum, the Buckeye Valley YMCA and the Hebron Baby Pantry.
“One of our major accomplishments was securing our mobile clinic that allows us to serve residents throughout our county,” Licking County Health Commissioner Chad Brown wrote in the annual report, released in early March. “We are looking forward to expanding our reach in 2025 and attending more events throughout the county.”
Even though the cold weather has kept the mobile clinic from performing on a more robust schedule, it can still be requested through LCHD’s website. There, anyone can fill out a form requesting the mobile clinic to come to an event or location where at least 10 people will be in attendance.
Jones, Hopkins and Hill said their goal is for the mobile clinic to be present in all areas of Licking County, though there are times when the clinic arrives at an event and few people engage with it.
“My goal is one [person], so I always meet my goal,” Hopkins said. “We’ve been to places where it’s just been one person.”
LCHD’s goal of seeing at least one patient per day is ambitious in some areas of the county and dwarfed by others. For example, one of the most successful spots for the mobile clinic is at local schools. The unit can arrive at schools and offer immunizations to the county’s youth. Hopkins believes that by doing so, the LCHD is eliminating another hurdle for working parents. Instead of having to drive their child to get vaccinated and take time off of work, parents can simply sign a consent form for their child to be vaccinated at the mobile unit.
One of the greatest benefits that the mobile unit provides to the community is privacy – especially for unsheltered people.
The LCHD has provided medical care at the Newark Homeless Outreach several times, and Hopkins said the van has made a dramatic difference.
“If they do not have a short-sleeve shirt, or they don’t want to remove their clothing in front of everybody – we can bring them in and then we have everything there,” Hopkins said.
While Hopkins and Hill commonly cruise around in the mobile clinic, there are some other divisions of LCHD that can also take the vehicle out. The Environmental Health Division commonly takes the mobile clinic for education and outreach around tick safety, which can help reduce lyme disease cases. The Health Education Division also utilizes the clinic for outreach around carseats and related topics.
For now, LCHD is still looking for ways to expand their use of the mobile clinic. They hope to find new organizations with which to partner and better serve all in Licking County.
Andrew Theophilus writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.