January 29, 2009 - Residents of Webb County will soon enjoy the services of a new medical mobile van in their own neighborhood.  Mercy Mobile Clinic rolled into Laredo on Thursday, January 29th and will be put in to use immediately.  The van was blessed by Reverend P. Nolasco Hinojosa, Jr. who is Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church at a service Friday morning at the Mercy Clinic.

The old mobile clinic, which is being replaced after 15 years of service, provided 2244 medical encounters to patients need at 12 sites throughout Webb County in 2008.  The encounters include treatment and diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, pap smears and breast cancer screenings.

The new mobile clinic is larger and includes more space and privacy for medical screenings and a comfortable waiting area.

Congressman Henry Cuellar, who helped secure the majority of the funding served as the guest speaker at the event.

“The unveiling of this mobile clinic is proof of the great working relationship that exists between the federal government and faith-based organizations such as Mercy Ministries. It was a privilege to work very closely with Sister Maria Luisa and Sister Rosemary in helping them obtain this mobile clinic to make sure that people who live in the most remote sections of the city and the county have access to quality health care,” said Congressman Cuellar.

Sr. Maria Luisa Vera, CEO of Mercy Ministries, announced the new van will soon begin visiting two new sites – Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Jude – bringing the total numbers of sites to 14.  Currently, the van visits 12 different sites per month.  The 12 sites include El Cenizo, La Azteca, La Ladrillera, Los Obipsos, Larga Vista, Penita, Rio Bravo, San Carlos, San Francisco Javier, Santa Fe, Santa Maria and Santa Rita.  Three sites are visited twice monthly --  Larga Vista, La Azteca and Los Obispos.  Of the 12 sites, three are inner-city sites, four are colonias, and two are mobile-home communities.  A number of the sites are visited twice monthly.

The purpose of the Mercy Mobile Clinic’s  (MMC) is to improve healthcare access to rural Webb County residents and to residents of Laredo’s inner city areas by providing on-site primary healthcare services.  The MMC transports a comprehensive health care team composed of a Family Nurse Practitioner, a case manager, a medical assistant and a community health worker (promotora) to areas where health care is not available. 

The Mercy Mobile Clinic is an outreach of Mercy Clinic’s overall preventive services and health education mission which is to engage unfunded, financially-disadvantaged residents in health care, health practices and healthy lifestyles, and to move these residents from a passive role in self-care to active participation in their own health care and disease management. 

The new van was purchased with funds donated by the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Adolfo de la Garza, The Sisters of Mercy in honor of Ron Ashworth, the Mercy Health System employees in St. Louis, The Canseco Foundation, Hurd Enterprises and a federal appropriation by Congressman Henry Cuellar.  The total cost of the van was $323,960 of which 58% or $189,677 was part of the federal appropriation.

The MMV began services to colonia residents in 1995 as part of a partnership/grant between Robert Woods Johnson, the D. D. Hachar Trust, UTMB Galveston, Webb County, City of Laredo Health Department and Mercy Health Center (MHC).  When the grant’s funding period ended in 1997, MHC continued the project and after the sale of MHC in 2003, the Sisters of Mercy continued the MMC project through the Mercy Ministries of Laredo and the Mercy Clinic.