New mobile health clinic helps children in Flint

FLINT, Mich. (WJBK) - A new mobile clinic providing health care and other treatment for children -- is coming to Flint.

A $300,000 rolling doctor’s office has set up shop in Flint. Inside are all the amenities designed to make sure no one is left out when it comes to treatment for lead poisoning.

"We have a lot of access issues in the community," said Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha. "Every day in our clinics, 30 to 40 percent of our patients don't show. Not because they don't know what's best for their children, because they have every obstacle in the world to get where they need to be."

Attisha was joined by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver to showcase one of two new tools brought here by the nonprofit children health fund and staying in flint as long as needed.

"It is a way to get them the healthcare they need quicker and more conveniently for their families," Stabenow said.

having a mobile healthcare office allows doctors to see the scope of the problem while exposing the doctors to people who may not fully understand how dangerous the water really is.

"This is about going out to the neighborhood so the doctors can be there on a regular basis," Stabenow said. "So that the pediatricians and others can be right there in the neighborhood."

"If we do that now, we hopefully won't see the consequences of the lead exposure," Attisha said.

You may see more Winnebagos driving around the city. They may have another dedicated to mental health problems as a result of lead poisoning in the city of Flint.