Those in Windsor-Essex who have difficulties accessing medical services may soon see a mobile medical unit driving around their neighbourhood.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones met with health workers in Essex County on Monday to unveil a multi-purpose medical vehicle dubbed the Medical. Mobile. Support. (M.M.S.) truck, created to help members of the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team (WEOHT) provide mobile care to residents in high-priority neighbourhoods and to marginalized populations.
"This innovative model of community health care puts the patient first by bringing the services to them and reduces systemic pressures by diverting emergency calls before they happen," said Jones.
Services provided via the mobile health care vehicle are in partnership with Erie Shores HealthCare, Essex-Windsor EMS Paramedics, Hotêl-Dieu Grace Healthcare, along with a number of other health care providers in the community. The truck will have a set route and will station station clinics across the region for residents and community partners to access.
The launch of M.M.S follows success seen at the Community Health Fair held in July in Leamington, which saw care provided to more than 200 people.
"We are already realizing health system impact with at least 28 per cent of people that have been supported to-date indicating they would have visited their local Emergency Room if M.M.S. hadn’t provided on-the-spot support," a statement from WEOHT read.
In addition to the ribbon cutting of the M.M.S truck, Jones also met with members of the Mental Health and Addictions Response Team (MHART) to address the demand for non-critical, low to moderate acuity mental health and addictions services.
MHART helps residents receive care in alignment with Ontario's Roadmap to Wellness to strengthen mental health crisis prevention and response.
More information about when and where the M.M.S truck will be can be found on the WEOHT website.