The Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program has expanded with the addition of the CARESQUAD, a bright yellow mini-mobile clinic generously donated to the hospital by The Jerold B. Katz Foundation.
The clinic will help carry out the mission of the Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program, which is to provide underserved children in the Houston area with comprehensive health care and preventive education. The smaller size of the new mobile clinic will allow caregivers to reach children and families who live in and around neighborhoods with limited parking and narrow streets.
“The addition of the CARESQUAD to the Mobile Clinic Program is going to make a huge difference in the lives of so many children and their families,” said Dr. Sanghamitra Misra, medical director of the Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program. “We are excited about getting the clinic on the road and are grateful to the Katz family for making the clinic possible.”
At a recent dedication of the CARESQUAD mini-mobile clinic, Evan H. Katz said his family is thrilled to unveil the clinic and is confident it will go a long way in helping area children receive basic health care.
“For our family, this gift is special,” Katz said. “It is close to our hearts because we realize that we are assisting families with that most necessary ingredient to a good life – health.”
In addition to the program’s newest addition, The Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program is composed of two clinics: the Superkids Mobile Clinic and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. During the school year, the Super Kids Mobile Clinic travels primarily to Houston Independent School District schools, community centers and churches in the Southwest Gulfton area. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile travels primarily to HISD schools and community centers in the Southeast Hobby area. The CARESQUAD will be used all over the region, accessing places the clinics have not been able to reach before.
The clinics provide free vaccinations to those who qualify for the Texas Vaccines for Children program and also provide free well child visits, sick visits and hearing or vision screenings for uninsured children in the Houston area. In addition, both mobile clinics have pharmacies that are stocked with common medications that are provided free of charge to uninsured families. Providers can perform common laboratory tests and educate all patients coming through the clinic about the different insurance options available to them. In the summer, the clinics travel throughout the Houston area and surrounding areas to provide free vaccines to children before the school year starts.
Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.
