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Meet the Mobile Wellness van: accessible healthcare on wheels
Live HealthSmart Alabama’s latest initiative. Photo via UAB News
Beep, beep! There’s a new way to get free, accessible health screening and advice in Birmingham. Introducing the Mobile Wellness van by Live HealthSmart Alabama, a program of UAB’s Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center. We’ve got the details for you, from what services this van offers to where it will be located for the rest of the year.
What is the Mobile Wellness van?
Birmingham, meet the Mobile Wellness van. Its main goal? To bring healthcare to communities in Birmingham. For no cost, the van offers necessary health screenings, so patients know their numbers.
In 15 minutes Dalton Norwood, M.D., the lead physician on the unit, and his team measure a patient’s:
- Height, weight and BMI
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Blood sugar
But wait, there’s more! The unit also provides flu vaccines and vision screenings. Yep, this isn’t a normal van—it is decked out with all the heath equipment needed for comprehensive screenings.
If a patient’s numbers are not normal, the team provides advice for what to do next.
“The Mobile Wellness van provides Live HealthSmart Alabama an opportunity to partner with communities to bring health screenings, chronic disease management tools, counseling and related programs into their neighborhood, decreasing barriers to access and transportation.”
—Teresa Shufflebarger, Chief Administration Officer, Live HealthSmart Alabama
Coming to a community near you
On November 7 and 21, and December 5 and 19, the Mobile Wellness van is making some stops in Bham neighborhoods.
Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church
- When: Sunday, November 7 and Sunday, November 21 from 9-11 AM
- Where: 2136 Jefferson Ave SW Birmingham, Al 35211
Friendship Baptist Church
- When: Sunday, December 5 and Sunday, December 19 from 12-5 PM
- Where: 2600 Central Ave, Homewood, AL 35209
We’re excited to see where the Mobile Wellness van goes next and how it continues to bring accessible healthcare to Birmingham.
