New Mobile Medical Van Brings Health Care to Our Communities October 26, 2018 Samaritan Health Services is taking its award-winning health care on the road. With a generous donation from the Mario and Alma Pastega Family Foundation, Samaritan has purchased and equipped a mobile medical van. SamCare Mobile Medicine will bring basic health care services to schools and community locations. The vision for SamCare Mobile Medicine comes from Ken Pastega, a Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation board member. As Pastega was leaving his family’s Corvallis coffee shop, he saw an American Red Cross Bloodmobile hosting a blood drive at a bank. As he looked at the bus, he thought, “That’s what Samaritan needs.” “Touching the communities they serve, reaching out to them, that really exemplifies Samaritan’s passion for people and their welfare,” Pastega said. Despite gains in the number of people covered by insurance and the expansion of medical services that Samaritan has brought to the mid-Willamette Valley and central Oregon Coast, too many people still struggle to access basic care, such as vaccines, health checks and care for non-urgent medical concerns. “The mobile medical unit can go out and facilitate that,” Pastega said. “It’s going to the public, bringing health care to people who need it, where they are.”This fall and winter, the plan is to bring SamCare Mobile Medicine to locations in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties. “The move outside of brick and mortar clinics is part of a larger change that is transforming and adding to the ways health care is delivered,” says Amie Bodi, operations director. “It’s shown promise for providing greater accessibility and improving health outcomes.” To learn more about SamCare Mobile Medicine, or to suggest ideas of where the van should go next, visit samhealth.org/MobileMed.
