UB’s newest mobile clinics, Health on Wheels, are ready to serve WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Imagine a day when a Western New Yorker who lacks transportation or access to health services can simply walk up to the community center at the corner of their street. There, medical, dental, occupational and physical therapy, social work, nutrition, athletic training and pharmacy students, just to name a few professions, will be waiting — all ready to provide health screenings, navigation, and health education.

That day has arrived with the launch of the University at Buffalo’s newest mobile health units, called Health on Wheels, which will provide health screenings and more to neighborhoods around Western New York.

“It’s where we hope health care could go,” Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, dean of UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, said at a ribbon-cutting event Wednesday at the Arlene Mychajliw Community Center in Buffalo’s Seneca-Babcock neighborhood, where the mobile health units were parked outside.

The larger unit measures 45 feet long and weighs approximately 42,000 pounds. A health clinic on wheels, it’s equipped with three exam rooms, a consultation office, an automated external defibrillator (AED), blood pressure and glucose monitoring equipment and a lot more.

There are also two smaller “fast vans” that can be used for doing pop-up events at community centers and churches around the city and beyond. One of these vans can also transport students to the larger unit, and the other is an office on wheels.

The mobile health units will be staffed by students from UB’s six health sciences schools, working under the supervision of UB faculty members. They will provide a variety of health services (though not all at the same time), including nutrition education, smoking cessation support, physical activity promotion, education on how to manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and information on environmental health issues like lead, mold and air pollution.

Additional services will include stress management workshops, substance abuse prevention information, and referrals and support for social services such as housing and health insurance.

A scheduling calendar with Health on Wheels locations, dates and available time slots will be available soon at https://publichealth.buffalo.edu/home/mobile-health.html.

The mobile health units were made possible through $933,800 in federal funding announced in 2023 by former Congressman Brian Higgins and $600,000 from the Mother Cabrini Foundation that same year. At Wednesday’s event, UB leaders thanked Higgins for his support, as well as his successor, Rep. Tim Kennedy.

“This is vision, vision and leadership,” Kennedy said, “and when they come together, and when you try to do good things for the community, especially a community in need, this is the result — a true effort that will have an impact on generations to come for young and old alike.”

Kennedy noted that not everyone has the means to obtain health care services or travel to a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital. “This mobile unit will allow for doctors and nurses and dentists and other health care practitioners to meet the community need in their place, in their neighborhood, in the moment,” he said.

Health on Wheels joins the School of Dental Medicine’s S-Miles To Go program — which provides dental care to vulnerable populations through two state-of-the-art mobile dental units — in further expanding UB’s ability to provide much-needed care to underserved communities.

“These mobile health units enhance our ability to position today’s health science students as tomorrow’s health care leaders,” said UB President Satish K. Tripathi. “At the same time, they bring much-needed preventive services to our neighbors, right where they live. In this way, we will reduce obstacles to care, like transportation and access, while improving the health of individuals, neighborhoods and communities.”

While Health on Wheels will travel to communities around Western New York, the vans will be stationed regularly at the Seneca-Babcock community center. Jessica Kruger, PhD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior in UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, has formed a successful partnership with the community association there over the past five years.

It began with Kruger and UB health sciences students working with Seneca-Babcock Community Association Executive Director Brian Pilarski to resurrect the food pantry there and has expanded to include events at which residents can stop by to receive the types of health services and screenings they’ll now be able to get through the new mobile health units.

“Through this innovative outreach, we’re not only improving access to care, but also strengthening trust and relationships in the community,” Pilarski said. “And that would not be possible without the University at Buffalo’s continued investment in this work, sharing knowledge, resources and a common mission to build a healthier, stronger Buffalo.”

Through Health on Wheels, UB health sciences students will gain valuable experience working in neighborhoods across Western New York, where they’ll be able to build partnerships like the one with Seneca-Babcock, according to Kruger.

“The warmth, resilience and generosity of this community has left a lasting impression on myself and our students,” she said.

She also noted the importance of students from each of UB’s health sciences schools being able to work together to solve problems and help residents get the care and services they need.

“Health on Wheels is a powerful example of what happens when UB’s six health sciences schools unite around a shared mission,” said Allison Brashear, MD, UB vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “I’m proud to see our medical students working side by side with their peers from the schools of public health, nursing, pharmacy, dental medicine and social work, bringing care, education and support directly to our neighbors.”

Adds Kruger: “This interprofessional team really makes this work so possible and is inspiring for the future. Being present in this neighborhood is more than an opportunity. It is a privilege and a responsibility that I do not take lightly.”