MINOT, ND ( KXNET ) — A new mobile medical unit has been rolling around Minot taking services on the road.

It’s the first kind of van for First District Health purchasing it last year and starting to use it in the Spring of last year.

The van cost them less than $281,000.

Having this van allows them to go into different communities and provide them with the same services offered in the office.

Rural areas in several counties, including Renville and Ward, don’t have brick-and-mortar medical buildings, which is why this mobile health unit is needed.

“So we thought this was a great solution because we do have a large geographical area and we try to get into all those communities that don’t have brick and mortar places,” said Holly Brekhus, the executive director of First District Health Unit.

The van didn’t come equipped with an AED and First District looked for grants to purchase one.

The AED was bought through the Insperitus Community grant.

The grant was $5,000 and the remaining $2,000 was spent on smaller medical equipment.

Services offered by this unit include going to nursing homes and work sites, giving out flu shots and different vaccines, and also offering syringe service.

“Our family planning program, which we can help people with reproductive exams and that kind of stuff that we can use our mobile unit for,” said Lacey Mcnichols, a public health nurse at First District Health Unit.

In the fall, they will be going out in the community offering flu, COVID, and RSV vaccinations.

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