Oak Orchard’s mobile medical unit aims to make healthcare more accessible

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Karen Kinter, left, CEO of Oak Orchard Community Health, and Julie Carasone, mobile medical unit coordinator, are ready to greet visitors to the unit parked Thursday at Hoag Library in Albion.

ALBION – Oak Orchard Community Health is on a mission to provide health care to many rural Western New York communities.

Toward that goal, they are making their mobile medical unit open to the community to visit, make appointments and learn about services.

On Thursday, Karen Kinter, CEO of Oak Orchard Community Health; Julie Carasone, mobile medical unit coordinator; and Estelle Sanchez-Cacique were at the unit parked at Hoag Library. OOCH worked with Hoag and Community Action to advertise the visit from 10 a.m. to noon. The unit will be there again on July 27 and once a month after that from 10 a.m. to noon..

One visitor to the unit Thursday was Assemblyman Steve Hawley, who heard about the unit from State Senator George Borrello, whose district touches five counties including Genesee. He visited the unit when it was in Batavia.

Hawley was very impressed with what he learned.

“Any time as a society we can make health care accessible and available it is a great thing, especially when it comes to rural counties, where agriculture is our number one business,” Hawley said. “It is often difficult for farm workers to get health care and we all know when you can catch a problem early, you can save lives.”

Hawley also met nurse practitioner Minnie Clark at the mobile unit and said she was great. He tried out the cot in back and said it felt just like a doctor’s office.

“Any time you can do something like this to make the community better, it’s a wonderful thing, especially bringing health care to those who work in agriculture on our farms,” Carasone said. “We are very proud of this unit.”

Oak Orchard Community Health has always had mobile medical services in some form since it started in 1966 in Albion, Kinter said. Oak Orchard was able to purchase the new medical unit a year ago with a grant.

(Left) Estelle Sanchez-Cacique, left, manager of patient engagement services at Oak Orchard Community Health, and Julie Carasone, mobile medical unit coordinator, sit in the unit to greet visitors Thursday. (Right) Karen Kinter, CEO of Oak Orchard Community Health, gave Assemblyman Steve Hawley a tour of the mobile medical unit parked Thursday at Hoag Library.

OOCH has offices in Albion, Alexander, Batavia, Pembroke, Lyndonville, Medina, Brockport, Warsaw and Hornell.

Carasone said the mobile unit was specifically designed to go out to farms and serve migrant workers and their families who might not have the ability to get to medical appointments.

“When we see these people we can do basic checkups, take blood pressure, etc., but we can also set up appointments with their doctors, if necessary,” Carasone said.

Kinter said the medical unit is convenient for farm workers who can just walk up to the unit, where we can help with a quick problem or get them into one of their offices if needed.

“A lot of our patients have transportation issues, and walk to our units,” she said. “We have several small vans at each of offices to transport these who need it. Those who are Medicaid eligible can be set up with Medicaid transport.”

Carasone said there is no cost for their transportation.

She also explained OOCH runs a Migrant Education Program, based in Brockport, but is working with farmworkers’ children at Barker Central School in Niagara County. The unit will be there July 18, 25 and Aug. 1. The staff perform physicals and immunizations, as well as provide dental, optical and medical services.