Left to right- Oak Orchard Health representatives Julie Carasone/Mobile Medical Unit & Community Health Coordinator, Cate Campbell/Clinical Operations Manager, Karen Kinter/CEO, Sen. George Borrello, and Legislator John Deleo pose in front of Oak Orchard Health’s new Mobil Medical Unit that went into service on Thursday June 29, 2023.
Representatives from Oak Orchard Health provided a tour of their new Mobile Medical Unit at their Batavia Office at 319 West Main Street on Thursday afternoon.
The Mobile Medical Unit will go where the people are.
“The main objective is to serve special populations in Orleans and Genesee County with this unit,” says Karen Kinter, CEO of Oak Orchard Health.
Oak Orchard Health will be able to meet agricultural workers where they are, in the fields and on the farms. Many agricultural workers face problems when they need healthcare. Some lack transportation and some are dealing with language barriers. Some fear losing their jobs if they take time off to go to a healthcare office.
“When we go out to the camps, we have our interpreters certified medically to interpret for those patients,” says Julie Carasone, Mobile Medical Unit & Community Health Coordinator.
“This takes away their hesitation into coming into our offices and builds trust among the workers in the farming community.”
The second objective of the Mobile Medical Unit is to reach out with medical services at pop up community events.
“This is where we actually go in and have a primary care unit there for screenings and do exams and offer them primary care services. We do vaccinations and health assessments to see where they are and if they have a primary care doctor,” says Kinter.
The first pop up event the Oak Orchard Mobile Medical Unit will be at is located at the Hoag Library in Albion, 134 S. Main Street, on July 13, 2023, from 10AM-12PM. A second visit to the Hoag Library is planned on July 27th from 10AM-12PM. There will also be a visit to Holley Gardens at 1 Wright Street in Holley, NY.
“What we’re trying to do is take a 360 approach to healthcare in making sure all facets are covered for our patients who have food insecurities, who have transportation insecurities, who have behavioral health, vision and dental questions, we’re popping up all over the place and we want to get out there that we’re here for you, and if you need us to come to you, we will come to you,” says Carasone.
Oak Orchard Health currently serves patients with offices in Pembroke, Batavia, Alexander, Warsaw, Medina, Albion, Brockport and Hornell. They also have a Mobile Dental Unit that mostly serves school age children in Orleans County during the school year. Each office also offers transportation to and from appointments if patients do not have a ride.
“We’re focused on rural medicine and our providers are prepared to meet the needs of the rural communities and that’s where we strive,” says Kinter
“We have an integrated model of care, transportation and food insecurity are the top two needs that people need a lot of help with, so we also have a food voucher program for patients. We are trying to close those holes and make our patients healthy and have access to care.”
Oak Orchard Health was initially founded in 1973 as a migrant health project. They will celebrate 50 years in caring for the community this August.
To contact Mobile Medical/Community Coordinator Julie Carasone- call 585-599-6446 Ext. 8503
For more information on Oak Orchard Health click the link below.