CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. (WOOD) — The Calhoun County Public Health Department has begun plans to bring care to residents next month with a new mobile clinic.

The Wellness Wagon was unveiled back in February and will soon be ready to start making trips across the county and bring healthcare to areas where residents may have trouble getting to appointments.

“AAA says that it costs about $10,000 a year to own and maintain a car. For a lot of people, that’s just out of reach and it creates an additional barrier,” CCPHD Community Public Health Director Hailey Black said. “By bringing services to where people are, the goal is to remove that instead of asking them to come to us.”

The 27-foot-long mobile unit will come equipped with cold storage for vaccines and will also have a handicap-accessible chair lift.

According to CCPHD, a recent survey identified access to care as one of the top health needs for residents in Calhoun County. Some barriers include healthcare costs, transportation and lack of insurance coverage.

Some of the services the clinic will offer include STI and Hepatitis C testing, free contraceptives, immunizations and Medicaid navigation.

If you’d like to request the mobile clinic to your area for an upcoming event or to learn more about its services, go to calhouncountymi.gov.