Supporting Mobile Health Clinic, Case Study Example

The present essay will discuss about the mobile health unit based on New York based health care system. The project aims at the destitute children who cannot afford to pay for medical expenses. The project commenced in 1987 and is operated over different parts across The United States.
The conclusions drawn from the case are numerous which set on recommendations for better practice and are listed in this section. The project was initiated by Dr. Irwin Redlener who aimed at helping children in need. The intention arose during his practice in Denver children’s hospital as a pediatrician. Volunteers in Services to America further ignited his thought to set up mobile health care unit. The Children’s health fund (CHF) is a noteworthy initiative proposed to help the homeless children and the underprivileged who cannot afford medical expenses. The foundation put in many efforts to attract financial support to encourage program’s under it. The major sources by which they receive funds are through private corporate individuals, aids through congress, other corporate and various government schemes like health insurance programs. CHF operates in both rural and urban areas and helped people in various passions of hurricanes and oil-spills. The additional support to CHF is through various MMCs which assist by dedicated delivery services in various health sectors like medical, mental health, dental care, health education and others. The analysis of the case study suggests that most of the MMCs are assisting CHF from the time it founded and of the group; few of them lack sophisticated technology, making their services low (Children’s health fund, 2012).

There are many challenges in implementation of services through the mobile health care unit. The idea of mobile health care unit and service to the needy children through them is the idea of CHF from the time of inception. The operations are carried through large mobile vans which aim to achieve the goals of the organization within the available funds. They maintain medical records and operate in a friendly manner. There are however many challenges faced by CHF in its operation which give ability to set some recommendations.

The various challenges faced by CHF in its journey of rendering services to cope with the standards of health sector include creating healthy environment to the people which could be done by providing necessary space, appropriate standard medical equipment which are essential to render high quality primary care. The health care in children is even more stringent and depends on many different factors which an organization is obliged to do which are population statistics to determine the number of children suffering from a particular health ailment and the study pattern of their health. Further, many implications of development are needed for children where the responsibilities of the medical staff increases.

There were many issues which arose due to the abiding of organization by standard regulations and legislators of the government which are invariable locations of PC, loss and misplace of personal health information and others (Stein, 2001). The most important challenges faced by them include shortage of staff, funds and lack of latest technological equipment.CHF ought to overcome these challenges with collective effort within the available technological aspects. The technological modifications which could overcome major challenges with use of government’s HITECH stimulus funds in a more meaningful manner include maintenance of electronic records to improve records, training activities and strategies to detect threats in areas which are risk potential, improving asthma care in children by reducing disparities, Creating more sophisticated online Networks like NICU to maintain records and building more improvised infrastructure like HIT for children with special health care units. The increase in software would anyhow make manpower less and reduce the stress of lack of manpower. In any circumstances, lack of funds and appropriate technology would make the mobile health care units obsolete.

References:

Childrens Health Fund. (2012). Retrieved April 6 2013, from http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/child-health-care/national-programs-by-project/new-york.

Stein R.E. (2001). Challenges in Long Term Health Care for Children. Ambulatory Pediatrics. 1(5), pp. 280-288.