Steuben County Public Health now has a mobile vaccination van to provide health services to its remote and rural communities.
The van, which is about the size of a food truck, will travel throughout the county and reach people where health services and providers are less accessible outside cities like Corning, Hornell and Bath.
Steuben County is nearly 1,400 square miles according to the 2020 U.S. Census; larger than the state of Rhode Island.
The county health department will use the van for pop-up clinics to provide immunizations for school-aged children—as well as flu, hepatitis A and B, tetanus and COVID vaccines. It will also carry Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose.
Public Health Director Darlene Smith said she is looking forward to putting the van on the road.
“COVID was a very busy, stressful, trying time for everyone,” said Smith. “But again, because of all of the PODS (Point of Dispensing) and the clinics and the testing and the vaccinations that we gave, we knew we needed to be more mobile and independent than what we were during the pandemic.“
The mobile unit is equipped with two nursing stations, storage, electric and USB outlets, a generator and a refrigerator to keep vaccines at the correct temperature.
The county bought the van for $212,000 with a grant issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administered through the New York State Department of Health.
“Any local health department's charge and mission is to prevent disease and injury, to promote health within the community, as well as protect community residents from emergency situations, as well as disease,” explained Smith. “So this is just going to be another tool in our toolbox.“
Smith said she would like to have the van at the Steuben County Fair in August for community engagement and education about the health department and its services.
Contact the county’s health department for more information about the van and its services.