On April 11th, the Mobile Health Center came to the Montgomery College Rockville Campus to offer care for students. The truck was outside the North Campus Garage.

A major concern for students is access to affordable medical care. Montgomery College’s Mobile Health Center addresses this throughout the three main campuses by providing health services for everyone, never turning away any person. The clinic has two rooms, a lab, two nurses and a technician.

Medical resources’ accessibility issues have complexities for many MC students. For example, some cultures have taboos against periods. Frequently, international students do not have adequate knowledge of the intricate healthcare and insurance systems. Additionally, insurance tends to be incredibly expensive. The wait for doctor appointments tends to be long, creating yet another limitation.

Additionally to those on private insurance, MC’s Mobile Health Center assists students eligible for Medicaid. This clinic provides reproductive health care, screenings, gender affirming care including hormones, vaccinations, and mental health support. With mental health patients, the clinic may help students on medication, but would never put anyone on medication.

The clinic treats and conducts tests for STDs and HIV and provides access HIV medication. Stated by Dr. Angela Dawson, Student Affairs Initiative Program Coordinator, “We know that the age group we serve is most at risk for [STDs and HIV.] Statistics show [those] 18-24 are most likely to have these issues. Most students do not know what HIV is … there are now additional [prevention methods] such as PReP [Pre-exposure prophylaxis] and education.”

“The HIV commercials do not look like they market toward everybody, ” Dr. Dawson added. Moreover, “when people see commercials … nobody thinks it applied to them unless they see themselves in the commercial.”

Another challenge is that some cultures have taboos against periods, as Dr. Dawson stated, “if you do not know how your body works then how are you going to take care of it…” There are barriers toward students access mental health services.

Dr. Dawson explained, “…There is a requirement in Maryland that all community colleges in Maryland must offer over-the-counter contraception.” MC gets free condoms from the state and they distribute it in their “Safe Smart Kits” on every campus. There is a flyer with a QR indicating what is in the kits, where to get a kit, and a resource sheet.

The frequency of the mobile health clinic depends on the staff that are available. They are finalizing the details to make sure that they can come to the campus and offer consistent care to students. Their hope is to come to the Rockville Campus twice a week and also go to the Germantown and Takoma Park/ Silver Spring campuses. Their goal is to go to each campus for two days a week for one week and switch another campus and repeat the cycle. They also want to continue having the clinic available into the summer so the non-credit and credit students during the summer will also have access to this resource.

The clinic opens at 10am and closes at 3pm. They can see approximately 10-12 students each day. With STI testing, there are two or three slots for appointments each day. For an appointment, students will have to schedule in advance because of their limitation in the number of students they can assist per visit. There is going to be a thirty minute slot for each person. Additionally, the health clinic is not for emergencies such as a concussion.

According to Dr. Dawson, The intention of the mobile health clinic and the numerous other student health resources is for “…trying to make things accessible so that students know how to take care of themselves… we think to educate and offer opportunities to educate students but also provide the best we can to provide services so that if you are here taking classes. You do have to think about where do I go out in the community to do this. Most people are not going to get it done if they have to do that…” Many people get busy with life and forget to get their health check-ups so the mobile health clinic is also convenient which helps more people get health screening.

For more information about MC student health resources:
https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/life-at-mc/student-wellness-center/index.html