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by Cindy A. Abole, Public Relations

The van was featured at April's Annual AME Missionary Society Conference at Allen University in Columbia. The South Carolina AME Church is one of the collaborating agencies with the Mobile Health Unit Program.

The Hollings Cancer Center's 40-foot traveling Mobile Health Unit van, which provides cancer screenings, general health education and counseling resources, has already logged several thousand miles in its extended journey.

Although the van's visits can be as short as a 24-hour day, its impact to residents who have never had access or monetary funds to benefit from its medical technology is long-term.

Within the past 12 weeks, the mobile unit's medical staffs have seen more than 400 patients who have undergone tests for high blood pressure, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, high cholesterol and breast cancer.

Van driver and mechanic William Horn unrolls the awning of the Mobile Health Unit, as part of the set-up procedure at a location.

First stop in the van's busy schedule was in the Conway area. The three-week visit extended to Horry, Georgetown, Williamsburg, Clarendon, Florence, Dillon and Marion counties and was coordinated by Health Care Partners of South Carolina. Organizers helped pave the way for the van's visit to the rural community of Britten's Neck on March 2.

Throughout most of its schedule, the van was parked at various community centers and area AME churches.

"At first, people were surprised to see the van," said Shaunette Gathers, a Health Care Partners LPN who helped organize publicity and provided on-site support. "It's good to have a service like this to prompt people to come out and get a screening."

The van's purpose is to provide cancer screenings and education support to walk-on patients and visitors within the state's rural and medically underserved areas. Results from the lab work are usually conducted by Lab Corps, while mammograms are processed at MUSC and later shared with patients or forwarded to a patient's primary care physician or specialist.

In March and May, the van traveled to the Beaufort area providing screening support to residents of Jasper, Hampton and parts of Allendale counties.

"Having the van has been a godsend for this area," said Marianne Holmes, RN, MSN., a nurse practioner with on-site sponsor Beaufort-Jasper Comprehensive Health Services Inc. "It has provided for so many who are normally limited to receive access to these services."

The rural health clinic serves six locations within both counties and is responsible for promoting the van's visit, scheduling and personnel support.

Holmes, who also runs a community diabetes series and a school-based health program, is a 1997 MUSC alumna, ran public service announcements on local radio stations, communicated the van's schedule through church bulletins and announcements and posted posters at shopping centers and other public gathering sites.

Although a majority of the patients seen were elderly, only about 20 percent were able to name a primary care provider for their regular healthcare.

In Charleston, the Mobile Health Unit has used its long-term relationship with the Enterprise Community Clinic by serving locations in East Cooper, John's Island, West Ashley, Charleston Heights areas, Berkeley, Dorchester and Colleton counties.

As the van treks across South Carolina, the crew continues to make small adjustments to help improve its efficiency. Improvements to communications and promotion, patient scheduling, paperwork and patient follow-up are tested and implemented along the way.

"I am very thankful for the help provided by the staffs working out of the four hub sites," said Daniel Hoskins, director of the Hollings Cancer Center's Cancer Prevention & Control Access Network Program.

"They have given valuable input as we continue to refine the mobile health unit's operation. Our every thought is how we can serve the community more effectively."