Bay Pines VA became the latest recipient of a new Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) after delivery of the vehicle to the C.W. Bill Young VA campus.
Last year, Bay Pines VA helped VA surpass the national goal of permanently housing 38,000 Veterans, with support to 638 local Veterans. The arrival of the MMU allows the organization to build on this accomplishment by strengthening the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team’s ability to conduct outreach to Veterans across Pinellas County who are not enrolled in the healthcare system.
“We are immensely proud that Bay Pines VA was chosen to receive the Mobile Medical Unit,” said Social Work Chief Alisha Stanton. “We look forward to meeting Veterans where they live in the community and providing them easier access to basic services that can improve their health care and quality of life.”
An opportunity to extend health care services outside our facilities
Stanton added that the team supporting the MMU will include a doctor, advanced registered nurse practitioner, registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, and a social worker.
VA officially announced the launch of 25 MMUs in August. Bay Pines VA was one of the healthcare systems across the country selected.
The MMU teams will provide a variety of basic care services, including treatment for hypertension, diabetes, basic immunizations and wound care. Social work services will also assess social determinants of health and access to mental health support.
“We have an enormous opportunity here to extend our health care services and support outside of our facilities,” added Chief of Staff Dr. Amin Elamin. “The MMUs allow our teams to cover a larger area more effectively, which is a huge benefit to at-risk Veterans.”
The MMU is a permanent part of the organization’s fleet, and while the teams will be going out once per week to start, they will be exploring options to expand frequency.
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Will this unit be used to reach out to the Homeless Veterans that are on the streets in most of our major cities?
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That’s great that the VA launched 25 MMU’s, especially for those veterans, like myself, of whom live 2 hours+ from the nearest VA medical facility or VA authorized community medical services. For those of veterans, like myself, living in a county’s unincorporated isolated country outback communities of America, where traveling to a VA medical facility just to get a blood pressure check or similar checkup, is not only an arduous all day excursion, but with fuel prices and todays high economy, also is a financial burden. In lieu of this, many veterans, especially those of us that are elderly, forgo seeing a doctor even though they should. This is a causative factor that will contribute to the needless death of many American veterans throughout the unincorporated isolated rural communities, where these veterans reside, all across America.
The VA provides a great medical program for veterans and a lot of really good support activities and support, provided a veteran resides within the sphere of reasonable travel and expense of a VA Medical Services Facility, for those of us veterans whom are not within that sphere of a VA services provider, we are excluded from much of the available medical services and programs the VA offers, especially those of us veterans that are farmers.
Perhaps one day the VA will receive enough funding for MMU’s and medical clinics to be placed in all of the country outback rural locations of America (certainly won’t happen in my lifetime), so for now; my fellow American veterans living in the unincorporated isolated country outback communities of America, inadequate accessible VA medical care is just part of our country living experience in the outback areas of the great American wilderness.
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its about time we get these Veterans a way to get some help. I am a vietnam thankyou