Bullhook mobile unit provides physicals at Havre High School

Bullhook Community Health Center's new mobile care unit is up and running, providing physicals to Havre High students in the unit's first major public event.

Doctors and medical staff from Bullhook provided physical exams for students looking to get approved for the upcoming year of athletics, an event being done in partnership with Havre Public Schools.

The handicap-accessible mobile unit contains two medical exam rooms with enough space and equipment for Bullhook staff to help patients with everything from dental care to gynecology and, eventually, immunizations.

Dr. Dee Althouse said they still need to get the refrigeration unit approved for transporting vaccines, but when they do they will be able to provide immunizations.

They are also working to get their lab station set up where they can run some blood tests and process samples for tests they cannot complete in the unit, she said.

The primary purpose of the unit is to bring health care to people in the community who have transportation issues.

Bullhook CEO Kyndra Hall said they often have people travel from as far as Glasgow and Wolf Point just to get basic dental care, and they would like to be able to bring care to them, though it may take time for the unit to start servicing some of the farther-away communities.

"One of the biggest barriers to care our patients seem to have in our region is transportation," Hall said. "So if we can bring care to them we can limit that barrier."

She said transportation is one of those issues that is always going to be there in a rural environment and this unit is perfect for addressing that issue.

One group she said they want to reach is people who need more intensive health care, but aren't quite at the level that they need to be in an assisted-living facility.

She said many people are in the in-between place and being able to bring care to them represents a significant opportunity to improve their patient care.

Althouse said the unit is equipped with secure high-speed internet so they can connect with their system back at the clinic, meaning they will have access to their patients' information without having to drag physical records everywhere.

Hall said they've been hoping to get a unit like this for two years but the funding for it was very competitive so they weren't able to secure one until late last year, and since the winter set in they couldn't do much with it until now.

Althouse said they are focusing on providing physicals at this event, but they are also looking at things like providing exams for local Head-Start programs and partnering with a local mammogram van to provide healthcare for women in need as well.

As for sports physicals, she said, they will probably do another event like this in August, when the deadline for sports is closer.

Hall said Tuesday's event seems to be going smoothly and she encouraged people to keep an eye out for future events where she and her fellows might be able to provide them some help with their new mobile unit.