Access to reliable transportation is one of the most common barriers to healthcare in Minnesota, especially in rural areas and among immigrant populations. It’s an issue that Odam Medical Group knew they were uniquely positioned to address with the addition of a mobile clinic to their operations.

“The pandemic merely exacerbated existing barriers to care including financial strain, childcare challenges and limited transportation,” says Bukata Hayes, vice president, racial and health equity and chief equity officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “This partnership with Odam Medical Group centers culturally concordant accessible care as the number one priority. Patients get the care they need, at times that work for them and delivered in the way they need to receive it.”

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota partnered with Odam Medical Group to make the mobile clinic, which is housed in an RV, become a reality in May of 2022 and it now brings care to homes in sixteen central-Minnesota counties. The clinic team speaks Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Hmong, Vietnamese and English. If other languages are needed, they connect with interpretation agencies.

Central Minnesotans have access to whole family, mobile care

The Mobile Clinic conducts home visits on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for residents of Becker, Benton, Cass, Clay, Crow Wing, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Sherburn, Stearns, Todd, Wadena and Wright counties which have high BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) populations yet few options for culturally concordant care. The Mobile Clinic is wheelchair accessible and offers services for children, adults and seniors allowing an entire household to receive care in one visit.

It's not uncommon for neighbors and passersby to inquire about the Mobile Clinic’s services. Last spring, Dr. Odam cared for a patient who was not on the original schedule but saw the branded RV at a neighbor’s house. The sick patient was planning to have her daughter bring her to the emergency room (ER). Instead, Dr. Odam provided her care and helped her avoid the ER visit. Dr. Odam also sent a prescription to a nearby pharmacy to fill it right away.

In St. Cloud, a gentleman stopped by the Mobile Clinic to schedule future appointments for his eight children. He mentioned he would spread the word to his neighbors as they had similar difficulties coordinating work schedules, transportation, and well-child check-ups. When the Mobile Clinic visited their apartment complex the following Friday, they saw 16 families for a total of 21 patients.

The Odam Mobile Clinic offers all the same services offered in their primary care clinic, including:

To schedule an appointment with the mobile clinic, call 320-204-4024 or schedule online at odammedicalgroup.org.