Mobile medical units bring needed care to unsheltered Veterans

Twenty-five new mobile medical units (MMUs) are bringing VA health care directly to unsheltered homeless Veterans, helping them overcome common obstacles to care, such as lack of transportation or access to a phone.

Dive into how the MMUs operate, what services they provide and how they’re helping us connect with hard-to-reach Veterans on the latest episode of the Ending Veteran Homelessness podcast, featuring guests Dr. Jillian Weber, Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (HPACT) national program manager and Dr. Aayshah Muneerah, primary care physician at Oklahoma City VA.

Listen to “S1EP26: Using MMUs to Bring Health Care to Homeless Veterans” on Spreaker.

Bringing care to Veterans

The first MMU rolled out in Orlando in August 2023 and the last one took to the streets of San Francisco in April 2024. The vans and trucks are outfitted with full clinical exam rooms, including an exam table, a refrigerator to store medications and specimens, and more.

The MMUs are staffed by members of each medical center’s HPACT, sharing an integral component of this model of care that focuses on reducing barriers to medical care and providing one-stop shopping for support services such as health care, mental health care, social and housing services, and more.

“Our staff and field teams have a clear understanding of the challenges and barriers that Veterans experiencing homelessness face,” said Weber. “They may be exposed to extreme weather and temperatures. They may be living in abandoned buildings, under bridges or in cars.”

There are 55 HPACTs in the VA system and nearly half of them now have an MMU at their disposal. Weber said the HPACT program is focused on taking full advantage of the 25 units that have deployed, ensuring they reach the Veterans who need care and are exploring ways to expand the services they offer.

Responding to community needs

In sprawling areas like Oklahoma City, which lacks robust public transportation systems, MMUs have proven to be critical. The second MMU rolled out there in September 2023 and has been serving Veterans in the area since.

The MMU deploys for half days at least twice a week, seeing six to 10 Veterans each time. Maneerah said they would like to increase to full days and begin traveling to smaller towns and more rural areas in the Oklahoma City area.

Open to scheduled or walk-in appointments, the MMU provides services like wound care, immunizations, preventive health care and even personal care like nail trims. Seeing that long or curved toenails were making it hard for some Veterans to get around, they trained and certified podiatry staff to provide nail care.

“We respond to what our Veterans are needing and that is what is special with what we do,” Muneerah said.

Learn about VA programs 

• If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at risk for homelessness, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838).
• Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs for Veterans exiting homelessness. 
• Read more about VA’s mobile medical units.
• Check out the Ending Veteran Homelessness podcast to learn more about what VA is doing about Veteran homelessness. 
• Learn how to get involved with housing homeless Veterans.
• Subscribe to the Homeless Programs Office newsletter to receive monthly updates about programs and supportive services for Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.