Mobile Medical Clinic Coming to Coachella Valley

Community partners welcome to tour, learn more about District’s new 26-foot mobile medical clinic

PALM SPRINGS — A new, 26-foot, $336,500, mobile medical clinic will soon be delivering healthcare and related services to underserved Coachella Valley communities in need.

The Desert Healthcare District and Foundation purchased he mobile medical clinic earlier this year with $175,000 in grant support from Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District. The photo above is a version of a mobile clinic. The real clinic will be unveiled to community partners on Friday, Dec. 2. Until then, it’s being kept under wraps.

The unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Desert Regional Medical Center campus — in the grassy area between the main hospital entrance and Jerry Stergios Building at 1140 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

It will consist of tours of the clinic, which includes two examination rooms, a bathroom, and a blood-draw chair. Attendees also can expect light refreshments, free health screenings, and remarks by community leaders.

The health services that will be available that day are flu shots, blood pressure checks, and body mass index (BMI) screenings — provided by Desert Physicians Medical Group (DPMG) Health, the partner that will license and operate the clinic. Other partners whose support helped to make the mobile clinic a reality are Growing Coachella Valley, and California State University San Bernardino – Nursing Program.

“The mobile clinic offers the District and its great partners another opportunity to put health equity into practice in the Coachella Valley,” Conrado Bárzaga, MD, Desert Healthcare District and Foundation CEO, said in a statement. “It removes many of the barriers that exist for vulnerable residents seeking medical care, such as taking time off from work or school and finding transportation to the nearest healthcare facility.”

The event speakers will be:

• Blaine Carian, Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District Vice-President
• Gemma Kim, MD, family medicine specialist with Desert Physicians Medical Group Health (DPMG)
• George Tudor, founding president of Growing Coachella Valley
• Conrado Bárzaga, MD, Desert Healthcare District and Foundation CEO

“We are so excited to work with the Desert Healthcare District to bring our vision of bridging health and community into reality so that we can continue to provide the highest quality and personalized care to the underserved populations in the valley that is patient-, family-, and community-centered,” Dr. Tae Kim of DPMG Health said in a statement.

Blaine Carian and George Tudor both appreciate that the mobile clinic will provide access to health services that was not previously available to the farmworker population in the eastern valley.

The need for a mobile medical unit was highlighted during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carian said. “When agricultural workers were deemed essential, the ag community set up sites for vaccinations. This was effective but difficult. Everyone involved was looking for an easier process.”

Considering that the Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District’s geographic boundaries are identical to Desert Healthcare District’s, Carian said his organization’s offer to help pay for the mobile clinic was a “perfect fit.”

Tudor said, “The ability to tell my employees that during work hours we will provide them with healthcare services onsite is a success story for all involved, Tudor Ranch as an employer, and all of Tudor Ranch’s employees.”

If you would like to attend the mobile clinic unveiling on Dec. 2, please RSVP by email to Alejandro Espinoza (aespinoza@dhcd.org) and Andrea Hayles (ahayles@dhcd.org) of the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation.

A schedule of dates, times and locations for the mobile clinic is being planned and will be posted on dhcd.org and social media sites by the end of the year.