Mercy Medical Center’s mobile van unit is one of many “clinics on wheels” in Northeast Ohio. The demand for better workforce productivity and limited time away from the job, as well as revisions in work, health and safety regulations have boosted the need for these travelling “hospitals.”
Dr. Bruce Hensley, medical director for Mercy’s mobile-unit service says the van is used for wellness checks such as physicals, hearing or respiratory testing and on-site drug testing.
“We’ve had the mobile unit not even a year, and it’s busy 75 percent of the time,” Hensley says. “At that rate, it’s the fastest-growing product we have. In another six months, we may need to purchase an additional unit.”
The van services about 100 companies in Stark, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Summit, Portage and Cuyahoga counties.
Hensley says the advantage for employers is little or no time lost by employees traveling to area hospitals and waiting for service. The cost, which averages about 20 percent more than a traditional off-site clinic visit, is discounted with volume testing.
“It saves the company money because we can finish testing sometimes in one afternoon, and it saves the employees from being away from the workplace,” Hensley says. “We have done 48 hours of straight testing, so people don’t have to go during work. They simply stop in before or after work.”
The average cost for a fully equipped van is $100,000.
Mark Higginson, manager of safety for East Ohio Gas, says using a mobile unit is a natural fit for his company.
“It minimizes time away from the job,” Higginson says. “Rather than people going individually and sitting around in a waiting room—it makes more sense to use the van service.”
Republic Engineered Steel also uses Mercy’s mobile unit. According to Wayne Fox, manager of medical services, use of the service saves significant amounts of time.
“The unit pulls right up to the particular department, right outside the door,” Fox says. “The employee can go off the job and right back on within minutes.”
Fox says the company’s infirmary is also capable of doing many of the tests Mercy’s mobile unit performs. Republic uses the mobile unit for employees at remote sites.
“If an employee walks to their car, drives to the company’s hospital where the primary function is the treatment of illness and injuries, they may be waiting for several hours,” Fox says. “We could lose the employee for several hours, but this way it takes five to 10 minutes.”
