OSF King-Care-A-Van
There are times when rural residents need health services but can’t always get to a health care facility. That’s where the OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van can help.
The OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van is a 38-foot mobile health center that has been serving rural areas since 2019. Operated by OSF HealthCare, the OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van offers enhanced virtual visits, health screenings, connection to community resources and health education to residents who might not otherwise have access to care. The health screenings and education are free services.
The OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van serves Bureau, Henry, LaSalle and Putnam counties.
OSF OnCall works with community members to find the best locations to utilize the OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van including housing authorities, homeless shelters, employers, schools, churches and other community organizations. The goal is to have the van in the community every weekday.
“That may be the YMCA, food pantries, homeless shelters, low-income apartment complexes or apartment complexes geared towards senior citizens or disabled people,” says Angela Wissel, manager of Community Health for OSF OnCall. The mobile health center is involved in many special events such as senior expos and back-to-school physicals.
The van is equipped to offer virtual visits using advanced digital devices that capture images and sounds from the ears, throat, heart and lungs to allow for a full assessment – all with guidance from the certified medical assistant and helped by a digital health navigator on board and the provider on screen. These visits are billed to your insurance just like a typical urgent care visit to a clinic.
Patients can be referred to OSF OnCall digital health programs as well.
“Virtual urgent care is a newer service that we provide from the caravan,” says Wissel. “So, if you’re not feeling well, need to see a provider, we can set up a visit right from the caravan with one of our OSF OnCall providers. They can diagnose things like pink eye, covid, flu, strep and send prescriptions right to your pharmacy, so you don’t have to go anywhere.”
The OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van was made possible in coordination with the OSF HealthCare Foundation and a generous donation made by Don and Val King of Manlius, in Bureau County, Illinois.
The King family has a passion for rural America. Over several generations, members of the family have experienced a few life-saving situations, which led to a special relationship between the Kings and OSF HealthCare. Don and Val donated the funds to purchase and equip a mobile health center.
The OSF Oncall King Care-A-Van has an array of staff members including certified medical assistant, digital health navigators who are familiar with the needs in the community, as well as dedicated drivers who get the van to and from each location.
Wissel says services such as the OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van are helping to shape the future of health care.
“By us coming right to the rural communities, rural America, we’re offering services right in your town, right down the street,” says Wissel. “It’s really going to be helpful for people to not have to travel, also using a lot of virtual platforms. Our phones, our iPads, our tablets, we can do that from the van, and we can also teach people how to do that from their homes.”
For more information about the OSF OnCall King Care-A-Van or to request a visit or view upcoming events, visit the OSF HealthCare website.
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