Reznet

SMSC Mobile Medical Unit Hits the Road to Provide Health Screenings

By Anonymous

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Mobile Medical Unit will provide mammograms in the upcoming months to Native Americans living in several areas in Minnesota. The Mobile Unit will travel to northern Minnesota to the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa reservation and to the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa reservation. Then in the Twin Cities it will travel to the Women's Prison in Shakopee and to the Native American Community Clinic and Indian Health Board both in Minneapolis. The Mobile Unit not only houses facilities for mammography and cancer screening but also amenities so that it can function as an Incident Command Unit in the event of a major emergency or disaster.

The current schedule for the Mobile Unit for cancer screenings is as follows:

March 19, 2008 Shakopee Women's Prison
April 16, 2008 Native American Community Clinic
May 28, 2008 Indian Health Board
June 13, 2008 Fond du Lac

Patients of these facilities or living near these scheduled stops can schedule appointments by contacting their clinics directly. The Mobile Clinic visit to the Shakopee Women's Prison is for inmates only. Dates for other Mobile Clinic visits will be announced when they become available.

The high rates of cancer of all types in Native communities as well as the need for on-site services to improve health screening rates for earlier detection of problems led to development of the Mobile Unit. The latest technology allows for the mammograms to be stored electronically aboard the Mobile Unit and then downloaded and read upon return to the SMSC. Results are then sent directly to patients and their doctors.

"The goal of this project is to offer quality health care services for those who might not be able to get them otherwise. With the Mobile Unit going to other Native American communities, tribal members will be more likely to get preventative health screenings which will allow early detection of disease and hopefully improve life expectancy," said SMSC Health Administrator James Lien.

You can find out more about the Shakopee Mdewkanton Sioux Community here and the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa here.