Van of health-care workers revving up to help underserved communities, province says

A mobile clinic is about get rollingto provide primary health-care services to people who are homeless or at-risk, the province says.

The clinic is being run by the province in partnership with the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in a Saturday news release.

The van of health-care workers will be stationed at predetermined locations from Tuesdays to Saturdays to provide itsservices from an Indigenous-led perspective, including assistance with sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, or chronic disease management, the release says.

Staff can also connect visitors to wraparound social supports, as well as harm reduction and mental health services.

The mobile clinic's team will includea doctor, a nurse, a mental health crisis counsellor andan Indigenous social planner, Della Herrera, executive director of Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, said in the release.

She said the project is "long overdue" and will help improve access to people experiencing health-care inequities.

The one-year pilot project received more than$1.2 million in funding through the Manitoba HIV program in December andthe province's 2024 budget announced in April, according to the release.