Many Morongo Basin residents were drawn to the area by its rustic desert roads, low population density, and a cost of living far below most other parts of the state. But according to a Health Needs Assessment commissioned last year by the Morongo Basin Healthcare District, those same qualities and high rates of poverty create multiple barriers to healthcare for many residents. In this story, reporter Mike Lipsitz says that starting this fall, help is right around the corner…
For too many Morongo Basin residents low income, isolation, and lack of transportation have deprived them of access to basic medical care and led to increases in physical and mental health problems, depression, even arthritis. The Morongo Basin Healthcare District aims to put the brakes on those grim realities starting this fall with the rollout of a state-of-the-art, 38-foot mobile medical clinic purchased for more than $350,000. An extension of the Community Health Centers, the mobile clinic will visit the area’s most remote locations on a rotating basis and offering primary care treatment, health advice, screenings, vaccinations, school physicals, specialty and mental health referrals, and at school sites, the clinic will provide dental screenings. The district has identified potential mobile service locations at community centers in Landers, Flamingo Heights, Joshua Tree, Wonder Valley, Copper Mountain Mesa, and elsewhere.
MOBILE MEDICAL SERVICE COMING TO THE MORONGO BASIN
