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EMSWORLD.com | APRIL 2016 55 The Seminole County mobile health unit is the only one serving Central Florida. Services include annual physicals, immunizations and a variety of screenings. Florida Dept. of Health in Seminole Count y It is staffed seven days a week, following a set sched- ule in each of seven locations around Saskatoon's core. Walk-ups are welcomed, and no appointments are taken. Locations can change based on local needs. For example, in 2014 the bus began stopping to provide services at The Lighthouse Supported Living facility in downtown Saskatoon. This facility houses some of the most vulnerable citizens in the city, many of whom might be reluctant to use walk-in clinics. They include the working poor, people with intellectual disabilities and people with addictions. In 2012–13 nearly 6,000 patients visited the bus. The majority (57%) were adults age 20–60, and 35% were children and youth. Officials hope that weekly visits by the bus will reduce strain on the EMS system. They also hope to reduce hospital ED visits for minor medical needs that can be taken care of on the bus. The stated program vision of the Health Bus proj- ect is the "creation of a mobile primary health center as a venue to generate health equity and close the disparity gap of those who are geographically, socially, economically and/or culturally isolated." The teams of paramedics and nurse practitioners, who focus on community care: » Establish networks with social agencies; » Work within the communities to help residents reach their highest level of wellness; » Work with community members to promote and maintain health, wellness and injury prevention; » Advocate for their patients to facilitate access to additional services and resources; » Identify challenges and solutions to develop- ment of a better, more integrated healthcare system. Healthcare teams provide: » Enhanced access to treatment; » Information and education; » Health promotion; » Follow-up care; » Referrals to further care; » Referrals to social services. Types of care routinely include wellness checks for blood pressure and blood sugar, diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses and minor injuries, STD testing, pregnancy testing, condom distribution, suturing and subsequent removal, wound care and management of chronic conditions. The bus is described as a leader in community medicine because it allows paramedics to expand the use of their skills to help care for people in nonemer- gent situations. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health has produced a fact sheet that contains providers' "Stories from the Health Bus." For an excerpt, see the sidebar on page 56. Evidence of the bus' success was shown by the program winning the 2012 Award for Innovation in Family Health from the Canadian Public Health Association and Amgen. The program was also recognized as a "Promising Practice" by the Health Council of Canada. Seminole County Mobile Health Unit Some 4,000 miles to the southeast in Central Florida, the Seminole County Health Department recently launched its own mobile health unit after a collabora- tion with local stakeholders revealed a need to focus on chronic disease prevention. The mobile health unit was created to extend this focus into impoverished communities countywide, where even basic health- care can be lacking. Operating two days a week initially, the unit stops in Altamonte Springs on Wednesday afternoons and Sanford on Thursday mornings. The driver triages the patients who arrive, a nurse practitioner consults with patients, and a navigator helps with insurance questions and signups. Nearly 75,000 residents in Seminole County under the age of 65 are uninsured. That is about 20% of the county's total population. The unit allows the homeless, uninsured, underinsured and residents with chronic diseases to access the following health services: » Family planning; » Birth control; » Pregnancy testing; » Annual physicals;