New Mobile Health Unit Debuts in Coachella Valley

Desert Oasis Healthcare announces new mobile health unit

PALM SPRINGS — At a time when convenient access to healthcare is of tantamount importance, for COVID-19 vaccines and other healthcare needs, Desert Oasis Healthcare this month debuted its new mobile health unit.

On its March 11 maiden voyage, the mobile unit from Desert Oasis Healthcare (DOHC) offered COVID vaccines, along with check-ups for patients of Will Family Medicine in the east valley.  Two DOHC pharmacists were on board to administer the vaccines and to enroll patients with diabetes and/or elevated blood pressure and blood glucose in special programs. They also provided blood pressure cuffs, glucometers and other necessary devices.

As “shots in arms” become available in larger allotments to COVID-19 vaccine distributors like Desert Oasis Healthcare (DOHC,) the promise of returning to some version of former activities seems possible in ways that it didn’t even a few weeks ago.

“Even though we know that we’ll be continuing to wear masks, socially distance, avoiding large crowds, and practicing universal health precautions like lots of hand washing, we are as eager as anyone to reengage face-to-face with those we serve. This was a nice start to making that begin to happen again,” Dr. Marc Hoffing, DOHC Medical Director, said in a prepared statement.

“We look forward to taking our new, two exam room mobile unit throughout the Coachella Valley and to hi-desert communities,” said Dr. Teresa Hodgkins, PharmD and VP of Clinical Quality Initiatives. “Our virtual visits for telehealth consultations, as well as safe office visits, between patients and their DOHC care teams will continue but our mobile unit will allow us to restart our health fairs with employer groups, senior centers, and other community events in a new and exciting way.”

A self-contained, mobile healthcare unit with its own generator for supplying power when necessary makes remote locations more accessible and one more way DOHC can help to meet the Inland Empire’s ongoing challenge of a short supply of primary care providers. Hodgkins continued, “It’s great that we have four ‘Best of Desert 2020’ Immediate Care Clinics available to our members and the general public who can get the care they need even when their doctor might not be available … or if they don’t have a regular doctor. But we are so excited to take our services further afield and help meet the need right where it is.”

About Desert Oasis Healthcare

Formed in 1981 as one of the first medical groups in the desert communities of southern California, Desert Oasis Healthcare (DOHC) continues to advance with changes in the healthcare market. DOHC provides primary and immediate care, home health, palliative care, clinical research studies and other services to thousands of members/patients living in the greater Coachella Valley and the Morongo Basin of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The multidisciplinary and comprehensive care programs of DOHC are committed to educating individuals on preventive health care in their daily lives, reflected in the DOHC motto, “Your Health. Your Life. Our Passion.” For more information, visit www.mydohc.com.