Adventist Health mobile unit aims to make healthcare more accessible in rural cities

SELMA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A medical office on wheels has been traveling across the Central Valley.

Adventist Health's mobile clinic made a stop in Selma on Friday to offer vaccinations and other health services to those in rural cities.

Friday was supposed to be a day of volunteering for Fresno resident Steven Martinez.

However, it turned into getting an annual checkup and booster shot.

"My doctor's office was actually calling me, and I just kept saying 'I'm busy, I'm busy,'" Martinez shared.

Adventist Health's mobile care unit made a stop in front of his church, and if it hadn't, Martinez said he wouldn't have scheduled a yearly checkup appointment.

Martinez said he would have pushed back his physical and booster vaccine even longer.

"Another month," he guessed.

According to Martinez, the mobile unit makes healthcare convenient and accessible.

"Not just for someone like me who puts it off and should do it, but for the many homeless that are here in Selma," he said. "If this wasn't here, a lot of them wouldn't see any medical attention ever."

Meeting people where they are -- that's the clinic's goal, according to Dr. Raul Ayala, with Adventist Health.

He also added the clinic addresses health disparities.

"Looking at transportation insecurity, food insecurity, just making sure that people have good equity in healthcare," he said. "A lot of the time, what happens is we lose that. So we're bridging back into the community."

Adventist Health partners with community organizations and schedules clinics during outreach events. Not only can people get food at a giveaway event, but they can also walk away vaccinated and screened.

The mobile clinic has more stops planned for the rest of the month and December. A full list can be found here. The list will update as more clinics are scheduled.