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Hospitals Use Mobile Health Clinics for Disaster Response

With most mobile health clinics owned and operated by hospitals, a significant number of them provide emergency care in the event of a disaster.

The vast majority of mobile health clinics are operated by hospitals or similar medical institutions. The market for MHCs is projected to reach a global valuation of USD 6.7 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% from 2024 to 2034. According to the Mobile Health Map, there are an estimated 3,000 mobile clinics in the U.S., with 10 million visits annually. Some estimates put the number of clinics much higher. While the exact number of mobile clinics operating worldwide is also difficult to identify, there were nearly 400 new deployments in Africa alone in 2023.

Disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and epidemics, typically result in large numbers of casualties, often followed by disruptions to local healthcare. Mobile healthcare clinics are valuable assets in public health emergencies. They provide timely, flexible, and specially focused care, allowing hospitals and other healthcare institutions to quickly deploy onsite medical assistance, vaccinations, rapid testing, and other essential health services.

During and following a disaster, hospital systems work with public health professionals, regional health authorities, first responders, and community officials to utilize mobile clinics to minimize disease outbreaks and illnesses. These clinics are vital in rapidly diagnosing injuries or illnesses, administering first aid and trauma care, and offering psychological support to help communities recover.

How Hospitals Leverage Mobile Health Clinics During Disasters

Hospitals typically operate mobile clinics to serve the medical needs of rural and urban poor populations. However, during a crisis, these clinics on wheels are rapidly deployed to affected areas, making them invaluable in responding to emergencies and ensuring timely full-service care.

Mobile health clinics can be deployed into the field to provide triage support and critical medical services in natural disasters, pandemics, or other public health emergencies. Their flexibility, mobility, and scalability make them invaluable in responding to crises and ensuring timely care when their home institution is inaccessible or overwhelmed.

Many hospitals, government agencies, and recovery organizations utilize mobile clinics to deliver services to individuals who are cut off from or have limited access to essential medical care. Due to their portability, they enable organizations to more easily reach affected populations.

Some examples include:

  1. When potable water is contaminated, the EPA may deploy mobile water testing laboratories in the aftermath of floods or earthquakes.
  2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals utilized mobile clinics to expand access to a wide range of services within and around their communities. Due to the magnitude of the crisis, a federal law was enacted in 2022, enabling institutions to receive funding for mobile clinics.
  3. Since 2023, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has dispatched over 65 mobile clinics across 11 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Somalia, serving as a critical lifeline in these crisis zones.
  4. Haiti has been in recurrent crisis for decades due to complex humanitarian emergencies triggered by hurricanes and earthquakes. In one of many examples, in late 2023, Project HOPE operated mobile medical units nearly every day, treating more than 45,000 patients in southwest Haiti. On a single day in November, they had planned to see 100 patients but ended up treating 733.

A Mobile Healthcare Response in Chicago

Beginning in August 2022, Chicago began to experience an unprecedented number of asylum seekers. They were staying at O’Hare Airport or Chicago Police Department district stations and eventually moved into 28 citywide shelters, which housed up to 2,500 individuals. As these resources became overwhelmed, the Chicago Public Department of Health sought the help of local mobile health unit programs. The University of Chicago Comer Mobile Unit and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile at Advocate Children’s provided their services. Though both programs are primarily school-based, they modified their routines to provide infectious disease screening, health examinations, acute care, mass vaccinations, and other routine immunizations. To meet the challenge, the Comer Mobile Unit provided support with interpreter services and additional staff, becoming a Direct Relief partner. The ability of mobile health clinics to provide quick and agile responses allowed these hospitals to mobilize in response to this unique crisis.

Additional Examples of Mobile Health Clinic Crisis Deployments by Hospitals and Healthcare Institutions

Many hospitals and healthcare organizations deploy mobile health clinics for disaster relief to provide emergency medical services, vaccinations, and other essential care to affected populations. Here are some notable examples:

Mobile clinics played a crucial role worldwide in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, offering testing, vaccination, and community education services. 
Following the devastating Maui wildfires in 2023, Kaiser Permanente deployed mobile health vehicles to Lahaina, the hardest-hit area on the Hawaiian island, to provide medical services, including first aid, wound care, and other essential medical needs.
After the 2022 flooding in Eastern Kentucky, Juniper Health’s mobile clinic was deployed to provide medical assistance to those affected by the disaster.
In the wake of 2024’s Hurricane Helene, Novant Health deployed a mobile clinic to the Asheville, N.C. region to provide disaster relief. Novant is an integrated network of hundreds of medical facilities across the Carolinas.
Following Hurricanes Irma in 2017 and Ian in 2022, the Cleveland Clinic and Florida Hospitals utilized mobile health clinics as disaster response units for trauma care, chronic disease management, and telemedicine services.
Following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Texas Medical Center and various organizations, including the VA and Direct Relief, deployed mobile medical units and other resources along the Texas Gulf Coast to provide healthcare to affected communities. In addition to other critical services, the mobile units provided wound care, tetanus vaccines, and mental health support to displaced residents.
Massachusetts General Hospital’s International Mobile Clinics operates disaster response mobile teams worldwide. For instance, they provided mobile medical support in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
The Johns Hopkins Mobile Disaster Relief Clinics partnered with FEMA to deploy mobile medical units to disaster-stricken areas and support COVID-19 response efforts in underserved communities in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) provides medical humanitarian assistance in more than 70 countries. It employs mobile health clinics for disaster relief, epidemics, and in conflict zones. After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and the Rohingya refugee crisis in 2017, they provided much-needed medical aid to these devastated populations.
Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, North Shore LIJ Health System launched its first mobile health clinic operation in some of New York’s hardest-hit communities, including Long Island and Queens, New York.
The United States Public Health Service and the Broward County Health Department’s response to Hurricane Wilma in 2005 included nine mobile medical units staffed with medical personnel to deliver care in communities affected by the storm.

Conclusion

Mobile health clinics are essential in responding to public health emergencies. By bringing hospital services directly into communities, alleviating strain on healthcare facilities, and delivering timely medical care, they significantly enhance public health infrastructure. As demand for flexible and accessible healthcare solutions increases, mobile clinics will remain a key component of emergency response strategies, ensuring that communities receive the care they need when they need it most.

The goal of mobile clinics in disaster relief is to bridge the healthcare access gap by providing essential medical services to people who are isolated, displaced, or otherwise unable to access traditional healthcare facilities. In both emergency response and daily services to rural, tribal, and urban poor communities, mobile health clinics have the potential to reduce operational costs compared to traditional healthcare facilities. Because their overhead expenses are typically lower, a mobile health clinic’s operating costs can be appreciably reduced, leading to higher profit margins for the home facility.

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