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Cal State San Bernardino’s street medicine program is about to cast a wider net in its effort to help homeless people in the Coachella Valley.
The program, which operates out of the Palm Desert campus, is one of six street medical operations that will be allowed to use a $340,000 mobile medical clinic that will be purchased by the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation.
Foundation board members approved the purchase of the mobile clinic late last month.
“We are so grateful to be included and excited about the ongoing partnerships with several of the organizations,” said Diane Vines, the university nursing faculty member who created and runs the street medicine program, in the statement. “The van will allow us to conduct street medicine nursing clinics in the field and provide mental health and substance abuse services.”
The air-conditioned mobile unit will be a Ford F-650 equipped with tools found at a health facility: two examination rooms with beds, a restroom, and diagnostic kits. It will have an awning that can extend several feet, a generator and solar panels for electricity.
The mobile clinic is expected to be ready in six months, according to the statement.
