Clínica Romero’s new Mobile Health Clinic will begin serving residents, workers, and families affected by smoke exposure while expanding healthcare access across Los Angeles County.
For many families in Boyle Heights, the effects of the recent fire did not end when the flames were extinguished. Smoke exposure can linger long after an emergency, raising concerns about breathing problems, asthma, and other health issues, especially for children, older adults, and people with chronic medical conditions.
Beginning this week, healthcare is coming directly to the community.
Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero has launched its new Mobile Health Clinic, with its first deployment focused on serving Boyle Heights residents, workers, and families affected by the recent fire. Medical teams will provide health evaluations, lung screenings, respiratory assessments, and connections to ongoing care without requiring patients to travel to a traditional clinic.
The effort is designed to remove barriers that often keep people from seeking medical care, including transportation challenges, cost concerns, and limited access to healthcare providers.
Bringing Healthcare Closer to the Community
The Mobile Health Clinic is more than a medical van. It functions as a fully equipped healthcare facility on wheels, allowing providers to deliver a wide range of services directly in neighborhoods where they are needed most.
The unit includes a medical examination room, a dental treatment area, private consultation space, wheelchair accessibility, and an onboard restroom.
Patients can receive:
- Primary medical care
- Preventive health screenings
- Lung and respiratory evaluations
- Vaccinations
- Chronic disease management
- Wound care
- Laboratory testing
- Medication dispensing
- Dental screenings and preventive oral healthcare
- Limited dental treatment
- Behavioral health screenings
- Care coordination and referrals to additional services
Clínica Romero expects the Mobile Health Clinic to serve nearly 3,000 patients each year throughout Los Angeles County.
Responding to Boyle Heights’ Immediate Needs
The clinic’s first mission reflects the community’s current priorities.
Following the recent fire, healthcare providers will focus on identifying health problems related to smoke exposure while helping residents understand whether additional treatment is needed.
Medical teams will also distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) and air purifiers to eligible community members while connecting families with additional healthcare and support services available through Clínica Romero.
The organization’s Community Health Workers, known as Promotoras, have already been working in Boyle Heights alongside community partners to distribute essential supplies and connect residents with available resources.
Expanding Access Beyond Traditional Clinics
Although Boyle Heights is the Mobile Health Clinic’s first stop, the program is intended to serve communities throughout Los Angeles County year-round.
The clinic will travel to neighborhoods where access to healthcare is often limited, including schools, shelters, interim housing communities, encampments, community events, and other locations where residents may face transportation or financial challenges.
By bringing healthcare directly into neighborhoods, Clínica Romero hopes to help patients receive treatment earlier, reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, and improve long-term health outcomes through continuous care.
Carlos Vaquerano, President and CEO of Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero, said the new clinic reflects the organization’s commitment to meeting patients where they are.
“Quality healthcare should never depend on a zip code,” Vaquerano said. “The Mobile Health Clinic allows us to bring our continuum of care directly into our communities.”
Why This Matters for Your Family
If you live or work in Boyle Heights, the Mobile Health Clinic may make it easier to receive medical care without traveling to a health center.
The clinic is especially important for people who:
- Were exposed to smoke during the recent Boyle Heights fire.
- Have asthma or other respiratory conditions.
- Face transportation or mobility challenges.
- Have delayed routine medical or dental care.
- Need help connecting to ongoing healthcare services.
Early medical evaluations can identify respiratory problems before they become more serious, particularly for children, older adults, and people with existing health conditions.
While the Mobile Health Clinic begins its work in Boyle Heights, its mission extends well beyond one emergency response.
Over the coming months, the clinic will continue traveling throughout Los Angeles County, expanding access to medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare in neighborhoods where services are often hardest to reach.
For many families, that means healthcare will no longer depend on getting to a clinic. Instead, the clinic will come to them.
