Lowell Health Center Partners with Public Schools, UMass Lowell to Provide Care to Kids

Ensuring kids get regular checkups can be challenging for busy parents juggling work and transportation.

A new partnership between Lowell Public Schools, UMass Lowell's Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, and the Lowell Community Health Center is bringing these services to Lowell children through the launch of a Mobile Health Unit.

Described as a “clinic on wheels,” the Mobile Health Unit will travel to schools in the Lowell community to help students in grades K-12 gain access to essential health services such as checkups, illness care, and vaccinations.

The Mobile Health Unit has two private exam rooms, a blood collection and vaccination area, and medical equipment to record and monitor vital signs.

Lowell Community Health Center licensed health care providers and community health workers staff the Mobile Health Unit. The experience also provides hands-on experiential learning for medical students at UMass Lowell's Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences.

“In Lowell, this is what we do,” Lowell Public Schools Superintendent Liam Skinner said in an interview with Boston 25 News. “We join together to find solutions to difficult problems. Thank you to everyone who made the Mobile Health Unit possible for our children and their families.”

Susan Levine, CEO of the Lowell Community Health Center, explained that she and her team had sought ways to expand school-based health clinics beyond those that are held at Lowell High School and Stoklosa Middle School.

“On day one, our team was delivering vaccines and helping families connect to primary care,” Levine said about the introduction of the Mobile Health Unit in the community. “That's the kind of access this mobile unit makes possible. Students can step into the unit, get the care they need, and return to class — healthy and ready to learn. We are grateful to UMass Lowell and Lowell Public Schools for helping to turn this vision into a reality.”