by Tori O’Dell
Lighthouse Pregnancy and Health Services (LPHS) unveiled their new mobile medical unit at a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 27, at their Hillsboro office, located at 214 South Main Street.
“Its name is Hannah Christine, in honor of the family that donated a large portion of the funding, approximately $50,000, for our mobile unit,” said Lighthouse Executive Director Tamela Polanin. “Hannah Christine is the name of the couple’s infant daughter who died due to lack of access to medical care. They established a grant to help provide access to prenatal care for women living in rural communities, like theirs. Most mobile medical units serve inner-cities and that is where funding is primarily distributed. Being able to make prenatal and STD health care more accessible to those in need in the counties we serve is something that Lighthouse has been working toward for a very long time.”
In 2019, Lighthouse Pregnancy and Health Services was awarded a grant from the Save the Storks organization for the mobile unit, making their long held dream of being able to travel to those in need of their medical services – who often do not have readily available access to transportation – a reality.
Mobile Medical Units have been shown to help bridge the gap between pregnancy centers and women who lack access to quality health care due to age and lack of insurance. Lighthouse’s new mobile medical unit will allow the ministry to provide all of their medical services, with the exception of counseling, throughout both Montgomery and Fayette counties. The pregnancy resource center currently provides free pregnancy testing, prenatal vitamins, sonogram services, STD testing and treatment, parenting education, professional parenting classes and prenatal education, at both their Hillsboro and Vandalia locations.
Lighthouse’s Mobile Unit is fully furnished with a medical-grade interior and equipped with battery technology that allows the clinic to operate for an entire day without running the engine. Laura Garmon, nurse at the Hillsboro location, will be hands-on, providing medical services on the mobile unit – though the resource center is also actively looking for more nurses to staff the unit.
While the mobile unit is now in their possession there are still some practical aspects that need to be worked out before Lighthouse is able to begin offering services out of it, such as hiring more nursing staff and winterizing the vehicle.
“We plan to start off by offering traveling services one to two days a week,” Polanin explained. “Our long term goal is to be able to provide services from the mobile unit five to six days a week, but we have some practical aspects to work out first. We plan to start officially using the mobile unit in the spring, until then we will be driving it around to promote our future services.”
The free mobile services will be offered, on a confidential basis, to anyone that seeks treatment, male or female. While they are still unsure of their location dates and times, the center plans to market which locations the mobile unit is traveling to online at their Facebook page. They are also seeking sources of funding to operate the unit.
“The new mobile medical unit is an impressive and progressive addition to our county, and I am so grateful for the work that Lighthouse has done to fund this project,” stated Kaitlyn Fath, executive director of Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to unveiling the mobile unit, attendees were able to tour the facility. The Hillsboro location is currently open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. LPHS accepts walk-ins as well as scheduled appointments.
For more information or to make an appointment call 217-532-2241 or visit them online at www.lighthousepregnancy.org.
