Dr. Duber, professor and section head for population health at the department of emergency medicine at UW Medicine, said the van is well-equipped to care for most of what volunteers will see. There’s even a curtain for private conversations.

“We’re very fortunate to have a community that cares about people, and we have amazing student leaders who want to help however they can,” Dr. Duber said.

At the St. Joseph Hospital Mobile Health Clinic in Southern New Hampshire, Dr. Vatti and his team have celebrated some huge victories since declaring the converted rock-band-tour-size bus fully operational about five years ago. One victory was in his neighborhood.

Law enforcement informed him that a park-and-ride lot in the area was where some unhoused people were temporarily sleeping in their cars. They felt safe with security cameras and lighting in place, and the lot offered access to restrooms. Police asked Dr. Vatti if the bus could swing by and see if they needed medical care.

“A lot of people park there and take the train into Boston, so it’s always busy,” Dr. Vatti said. “But I had no idea this was going on, and it’s three miles from my house. We took the bus out there and connected with multiple individuals, provided immediate care where we could, and referred them to long-term resources.”

After deciding to start a mobile clinic, the bus sat still for a couple of years because of financial challenges and difficulty getting it fully equipped to serve in the capacity St. Joseph’s wanted. Today, it’s fully licensed to offer non-urgent, walk-in health care services. The mobile clinic is staffed with nurse practitioners, midwives, nurses, and patient service representatives; it has internet capability, and a staff interpreter is available.

The clinic brings free care to those without insurance and, although it’s a small percentage, a billing system is set up for those with coverage.

The next mobile outreach project is a challenge, said Dr. Vatti.

Immigrants in the area, mostly students around age 20, need to be seen by a physician to maintain their visa status, but they don’t know how to start receiving care and don’t speak much English. The U.S. Public Health Service reached out to St. Joseph’s to ask for help. Its Mobile Health Clinic came to the rescue. The first clinic, Dr. Vatti said, was inefficient and only saw two patients because of state and federal government paperwork.