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Ronald McDonald Care Mobile
Removing barriers to healthcare in communities where families need it most.
Ronald McDonald Care Mobile programs bring dental, medical, and health care resources to underserved communities around the world.
Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Programs
Millions of families around the world are lacking access to even the most basic medical and dental care for their children. This urgent, heartbreaking need is the reason why RMHC delivers tens of thousands of medical, dental and health-education visits to communities, in partnership with local clinical services providers, through our Ronald McDonald Care Mobile programs.
We want to ensure every family has what they need to ensure the best health outcomes for their child.
In addition to basic medical and dental services, some Ronald McDonald Care Mobile programs also help promote healthy habits, facilitate preventive care, or inform early diagnosis of serious illnesses. We are committed to supporting families all along their child’s healthcare journey.
Ronald McDonald Care Mobile services include
Dental care & follow-up
Medical diagnosis & treatment
Health education & resources
Our unique approach for an all-too-common health care issue.
We designed each Ronald McDonald Care Mobile with a holistic approach to health care so we can deliver on the needs of our underserved communities.
Depending on community needs, Ronald McDonald Care Mobile services may include:
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Health education reduces overall medical costs, addresses behavior and lifestyle choices, and helps motivate families to improve and maintain their health.
- Wellness checks and physicals
- Oral health and hygiene education
- Health and developmental screenings
- Childhood health promotion and injury prevention education
- Nutrition education
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Services range from immunizations and preventive check-ups to dental care and treatment for chronic and acute illnesses
- Immunizations
- Asthma treatment and self-management education
- Diagnostic, preventive and restorative dental care
- Pulmonary function testing
- Vision, hearing and lead screening
- School and sports physicals
- Prenatal care for pregnant teens
- Ophthalmology
- Blood collection
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- Pediatric specialty care, such as oncology, cardiology and otolaryngology
- Care for special needs children
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Our staff works closely with families to help them get access to the appropriate health care professionals and specialty care:
- Ongoing care with a primary doctor or dentist
- Mental health assessment and referral
- Social service resource referral
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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The 40-foot vehicles travel directly into areas where children are medically underserved, offering high-quality medical, dental or health education through relationships with local healthcare organizations and clinical service providers.
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Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles provide a number of services based on the needs of the community, including:
- Primary care, well-child visits and developmental screening
- Immunizations
- Diagnostic, preventive and restorative dental care
- Oral hygiene education
- Asthma treatment and self-management education
- Pulmonary function testing
- Vision, hearing and lead screening
- School and sports physicals
- Prenatal care for pregnant teens
- Childhood health promotion and injury prevention education
- Nutrition counseling
- Pediatric specialty care, such as oncology, cardiology and otolaryngology
- Ophthalmology
- Mental health assessment and referral
- Blood collection
- Social service resource referral
- Health education
- Care for special needs children
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Staffing varies based on the scope of services provided but might include a pediatrician, a pediatric nurse, a dental hygienist, a dentist and a program manager. Other staff members might include a social worker and other pediatric specialists. In most cases, these staff members are full- or part-time workers hired by local health-care organizations. Most Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles choose to supplement their staff with a rotating base of volunteers and medical, dental and nursing students. In an effort to provide continuity of care, however, there is always a core staff that serves the community on a regular basis. The rotating staff complements the core staff.
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Through relationships with clinical service providers, Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles currently operate in nine countries in Argentina, Canada, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and the U.S. To find out if there is a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile in your area, contact your local RMHC organization.
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Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles provide health care and health education services to children from birth to 21 years old.
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Services provided on a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile are not meant to replace regular visits to a doctor or a dentist. Rather, they provide an entry point into a regular pattern of health care for vulnerable children, with the goal of connecting the child and his or her family to a medical or dental home. In some cases, we understand that a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile will need to be the medical or dental “home” for the child because of a severe lack of health care providers in the community or the limited number of providers that will accept children with Medicaid. However, this type of situation has been more of the exception than the rule.
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Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles are operated through relationships with carefully selected clinical service providers.
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RMHC looks for healthcare partners who have 501(c)(3) status and a mission that complements that of RMHC. To date, the healthcare organizations or clinical service providers have been community hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, county hospitals, outpatient clinics and independent groups of physicians and dentists.
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All services offered on Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles are provided in a cost effective manner to children and their families. No child is denied care based on ability to pay. However, reimbursement from a third party, such as Medicaid, is sought if applicable, as is sliding-scale payment that complements the pay schedule already in place at the base of operations.
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Search for a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile in your community, then contact the program manager for more information regarding appointment scheduling.
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