Lawmakers secure $300K for mobile health bus, ‘Wellness on Wheels’

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – State Senator Adam Gomez and State Representative Carlos Gonzalez celebrated a pair of amendments they helped secure outside of the Baystate Brightwood Health Center this morning.

Because of both Gomez and Gonzalez Baystate Health was awarded a total of $300,000 in earmark funding, and this money went to something we have never seen before.

$50,000 of the money went to help support the operation of the Wellness on Wheels bus.
The money spent on the bus will go towards health screening and monitoring, preventative health services and outreach, supplies for self-care, and support staff.

“These busses that we see behind us are instrumental because now we can bring services to communities that have a gap in services,” says Senator Gomez.

Mobile Health Equity Program manager Kelly Lamas adds, “I think the message is that we’re looking to build long-term sustaining and trusting relationships in the community and so the bus does that through transparency and also embodying the overall mission of Baystate Health which is improving the health of our communities with quality and compassion.”

The other earmark, which was secured for Baystate, will be spent to provide IT enhancements intended to begin to bridge the digital divide through increasing internal IT capabilities, promoting digital literacy in the community, and setting the tone for healthcare’s new digital environment.

The big blue bus will focus on health conditions disproportionately impacting urban and rural communities and target residents who are economically, racially, culturally, or socially marginalized.

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Heath Kalb is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2022. Follow Heath on X @HeathKalb and view his bio to see more of his work.

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