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56 APRIL 2016 | EMSWORLD.com » School and college entry physicals; » Child and adult f lu and pneumonia immunizations; » Wellness screenings for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease and body mass index; » Screening, testing and education for STDs, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis; » Referrals to follow-up care and tar- geted wellness programs such as smoking cessation. In addition to providing primary care, chronic disease prevention is a main focus. The unit will seek to detect major diseas- es for residents who lack the income or resources to visit a clinic. Depending on their needs and resourc- es, patients can be referred to other local healthcare facilities for further care. Bus vouchers are available for those who have no transportation. Care is provided by an advanced regis- tered nurse practitioner and a health sup- port worker to anyone by appointment and to walk-up patients. The unit's $300,000 annual operat- ing budget is funded by Orlando Health, Healthy Start Coalition of Seminole County, True Health Family Health Centers, and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Although county health departments operate mobile health units in Citrus, Sarasota and Dade Counties, the Seminole County unit is the only one serving Central Florida. While it only operates two days a week now, leaders hope to receive funding to expand to more days and hours. The mobile health unit is in its initial few months of operation, so no statistics are available yet, but it is already being seen as a first step toward reaching more underserved residents. A B O U T T H E A U T H O R Ed Mund began his fire and EMS career in 1989. He currently serves with Riverside Fire Authority, a fire-based ALS agency in Centralia, WA. His writing and photos have appeared in several industry publications. Contact him at mund.ed@comcast.net. St o r i e s F r o m t h e S a s k a t o o n H e a lt h B u s "The client was a 94-year-old male, curious about the bus. Stopped by to check us out. We engaged in conversation, took some vitals…[he had] an irregular heartbeat. We did a 12-lead ECG and found a-fib and a RBB. He did not take any meds and was asymptomatic. We were uncertain if this was a new onset. We made arrangements for a follow-up at the clinic. We gave him a copy of our 12-lead to present to [the doctor]. The bus is working!" "[A] regular homeless fellow…came in for a dressing change on his leg for an injury he'd had for a month. It was getting worse, not better. He had been seen at the [named clinic] for a dressing change a week ago and was told he needed antibiotics. He told them no. Today I told him the same the same thing, and he said he would take them. So the NP wrote him a script [and provided education]…I think this proves that we are gaining trust in the community, even if it is just one person at a time." "The third was a lady who came by to have her BP taken. She said it is always high at the doctor's office, as she gets anxious. It was high for us as well, and we prompted her to make sure she took it again at home to see if it came down. [The staff] also realized she had an irregular heartbeat and put her on the monitor. She was in a-fib but stated she felt fine. She had a regular doctor's appointment soon, so she was happy to take the ECG strip and tell the doctor what we had found. She also called back twice during the evening to tell us her meds and reassure us she had taken her BP at home and it was fine then." "She arrived very pale and in distress. She was directed to the ER for labs and ultrasound. She returned wanting to personally thank those for the care she received. As it turned out they found two tumors, one on each kidney, less than a centimeter in diameter. She will be going for a CT and surgery to determine if there is any cancer. A young mother with children, employed in a low-paying occupa- tion and stress leaking out. Thanks to…[the named nurse and paramedic] for your care." —Source: www.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia. aspx?mediaId=728&PN;=Shared One goal of the Seminole County mobile health unit is the prevention and management of chronic disease. Florida Dept. of Health in Seminole Count y