A mobile clinic will offer weekly services downtown starting Wednesday

James Bennett, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·2 min read

Sep. 2—Starting next week, medical services will be offered behind City Hall.

Community Howard Regional Health will bring the CareMobile — a 40-foot bus with an exam room and testing equipment — to the Kokomo City Line Trolley Transit Center every Wednesday starting Sept. 7.

From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., people will be able to visit the CareMobile at 215 E. Sycamore St. for adult primary care, including exams, vaccinations and basic lab tests. For now, appointments will be based on walk-in availability.

Both well and sick adults will be able to visit the mobile clinic.

Stationing the mobile clinic at the City Line's main station will help people without access to cars receive healthcare, Jennifer Hindman, hospital administrator at Community Howard Regional Health, explained during a Wednesday test run.

The location was also chosen because the downtown area doesn't have a primary healthcare presence.

Services at the CareMobile will cost the same as clinic rates. Financial assistance is also available.

The CareMobile was originally acquired by Community Howard Regional Health in 2011 and has thus far been reserved for health screenings at community events. The equipment needed for a mobile clinic was installed over the course of the last year.

The CareMobile will still be available for community events. Hindman said the organization is also looking to expand the CareMobile's weekday services to other locations in Howard County.

"Expanding the CareMobile's use to a true doctor's office on wheels opens up a new avenue for Community Howard to fulfill its mission of ensuring convenient access to care," Hindman said in a press release. "As we start the Wednesday clinic downtown we will also be looking at additional needs and opportunities to serve other neighborhoods and communities."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.