New Mobile Care Center to Serve Worcester
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Students were given the opportunity to tour the new mobile care center after the unveiling.
At a ceremony at UMass Memorial Medical Center today, the new mobile care center was unveiled. The vehicle will soon be providing medical care for children and families that cannot afford it in 16 area schools and multiple community centers. Karen McEachern, Executive Director of Ronald McDonald Charities of Eastern New England, believes it was the perfect time to make a change.
"The old mobile care center was fabulous 12 year ago," McEachern said. "But the need in Worcester is expanding and growing, so this new care center has the capacity to grow with the needs of the community."
When the original mobile care center was introduced in 2000, it was the first of its kind in the United States. Since then, the Ronald McDonald Care Center has treated nearly 75,000 families in need throughout Worcester.
The new mobile care center brings updated medical, dental and educational equipment for patients and, as UMass Memorial CEO John O'Brien said, continues a nation-wide trend of mobile centers providing care that began in Worcester.
"(The first care center) was ahead of its time providing preventative dental and medical care in our community," O'Brien said. "We are now focusing on health care (availability) disparities. Some of the people that are in most need of care have no access to it. The mobile care center will help with that, not only at the schools, but at community centers as well."
The process of creating the new center began nearly two years ago and was completed when the vehicle was delivered last weekend. With this new care center, McEachern and her team hope to expand upon their already large-scale care plan.
"I see this growing because the need is there," McEachern said. "The public schools are very supportive, as are the community centers. That's where we need to be, because that's where the children are."
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