The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is on the move.
A new mobile laboratory is helping the health department reach its rural communities across its four-county area.
The Health Department of Northwest Michigan covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties.
The mobile unit is equipped with a room with an exam table and storage, as well as a separate area for staff to greet patients and perform blood draws and other laboratory tests.
A sink, bathroom, refrigerator to store lab samples, storage, entry steps, as well as a wheelchair lift round out the fully equipped van.
“We are thrilled to be able to enhance our outreach efforts with this mobile unit,” said Lisa Peacock, Health Officer with the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. “It will enable us to reach areas that are relatively far from one of our district offices and may be difficult for clients to seek services,” she added.
The unit, which was purchased through a grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services as part of the Northern Michigan Regional Lab expansion, is currently being used to perform COVID-19 PCR tests in the community.
The unit has been serving the Emmet County region but will soon go on the road to other communities.
“We will be doing things like WIC programs through the unit, vaccinations, physical exams, pap smears, all kinds of services that we do. Like normally you know, in our health department offices,” explained Dan Thorell, Environmental Health Services Director.
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