About the Van
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A pioneer in the growing trend in public health practice, mobile health clinic vans like The Family Van successfully reach people that typically do not or cannot access primary healthcare. When the Family Van was launched, on Martin Luther King Day (January 15th) 1992, the core focus was to address health disparities in those Boston neighborhoods that had least access to prenatal care, and hence high incidences of infant mortality and low birth weights. Over time our mission has broadened to include disparities in stroke, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and cholesterolemia. While infant mortality remains a pressing issue, it is just one of the results of widespread lack of access to medical care and healthy living information in these communities. Our overall goal is to improve the health of these communities by encouraging people to take steps to prevent chronic disease and maintain good health.
To support this mission, we provide screening, testing and education in areas such as nutrition and weight management, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted infection and other health risks. Today, as a program supported through the Harvard Medical School, The Family Van is on the road 26 hours per week and makes stops in seven regular locations in Dorchester, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan and Roxbury.
In addition to the services we provide, another important function of The Van is to provide medical, dental and allied health professions students with first-hand, practical experiences by coming aboard The Family Van. Family Van Medical Director, Bikash Verma, MD, works with the medical education institutions to provide medical and allied health students with supervised rotations aboard the Van to help inspire and train the next generation of family healthcare providers.
