The Medicaid assistance provider is taking its wellness and opportunity center on the road.
ABOVE PHOTO: From left: Winnie Smart-Mapp (Pennsylvania Eastern Keystone Baptist Association aka PEKBA), Meg Grant (Director, Keystone First), Joanne McFall (Market President, Keystone First) Trish Wellenbach (CEO/President of Please Touch Museum), Steve Bohner (Executive Director, AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation) Dr. Kunal Parikh (DMD, Dentistry for Life), and Doreen Brown (Reg. Director of Community Relations, AmeriHealth Caritas). (Photo by Richard Wah)
By Denise Clay-Murray
For many of us, being able to take a trip to the doctor is something that we all take for granted.
But if you can’t get to the doctor due to transportation or mobility issues, or because you don’t have access to your doctor due to your work schedule, taking care of your health can be complicated.
Keystone First, a Medicaid assistance provider that serves the Delaware Valley, is doing something to help members of the community that have trouble getting to the doctor find the care they need.
The Keystone First Mobile Wellness and Opportunity Center made its debut last Sunday at the Please Touch Museum in West Philadelphia.
With enough room for 15 chairs, two computer rooms, and medical examination tables that can be switched out with a dental chair, the motorcoach takes up six parking spaces and is sleekly decorated with wrapping from Keystone First.
The wellness and opportunity center is the mobile version of the company’s brick and mortar center in Chester, said Maya Stewart, manager of public affairs and marketing for Keystone First.
In that center, which was opened shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, the community could come in and get COVID vaccinations, help with social services, health screenings, and such things as GED classes through Mission GED, financial literacy classes, and yoga classes.
The idea behind the mobile center is to bring everything that Keystone First’s wellness and opportunity center in Chester has to everyone in the five-county area that might need it, Joanne McFall, Keystone First market resident, said in a statement.
The Keystone First Leadership, Marketing, and Outreach team
Photo by Richard Wah
“The mobile unit will help us meet members where they are and enhance their engagement with the health care system and their community,” she said.
In addition to making sure that community members can get the resources they need, the mobile unit is also taking to the road right now to help those who may not know their Medicaid status get clarity on that so that they can continue to manage such things as diabetes and hypertension, McFall said.
“The pandemic illustrated the importance of member engagement and its impact on health outcomes,” she said. “We literally have a new vehicle to meet the needs of Medicaid members.”
Keystone First also has mobile wellness and opportunity centers in North Carolina and Louisiana. The healthcare firm also plans to build brick and mortar centers similar to the one it has in Chester in West Philadelphia and Frankford, Stewart said.
If you would like more information on Keystone First’s Mobile Wellness and Opportunity Center, visit: www.keystonefirstpa.com/community.
If you’re a community group that would like to partner with Keystone First to bring the center to your community event, please contact James Brown at [email protected].
At least 30 days notice is required to bring the van to your event and there must be a space large enough to accommodate the bus.
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