What is MOP?

What is MOP (Mobile Outreach Partnership) The MOP project will utilize the mobile health unit owned and operated by the Dearborn County Health Department The Mobile team will have a Tobacco Treatment Specialist, Registered nurses, and other community partners related to barriers or stressors that residents may find valuable.  Flu and COVID vaccines will be made available on-site. Direct referral to the Indiana Quitline, St. Elizabeth’s Freedom from smoking, or sessions with the Health Department TTS for American Lung programming will be provided. 

The community partners will be from the following agencies but are not limited to them: Work One (to get resume help and work referral), Health Navigators( to learn more about Medicaid and Medicare), Purdue Extension( for healthy meal choices/diabetes care, get walking program guide), Recycling Center (to promote alternative activities), Veterans Affairs representative, Southeast Indiana Economic Opportunity Corporation (to help with childcare, community referrals, energy assistance, family development, health insurance, HUD or Section 8 housing, resource sheets, and weatherization), Groups recover together (for those with SUD), Community Mental Health (to provide information and make appointments for Behavioral Health) and any other public service organization that has the willingness to provide public outreach. 

Partners will set up MOP stop locations at Multi-Unit Housing, food pantries, probation, worksites, and other identified sites where people may have transportation or financial barriers. Having all the partners in one place will address the transportation issue and help resolve some of the problems that lead to stress or feeling overwhelmed. These problems are direct triggers for many, and treating the whole individual will have better outcomes.  Meeting residents where they are will also provide a feeling of accomplishment since they can knock out many things at once. Community partners being on-site will save them time and money trying to make it to several different appointments. 

Although the COVID pandemic may seem to be coming to a close, many are still wary of venturing out and seeking treatment. For many decades, the Health Department has been a public outreach and mobilization leader. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we have fostered long-lasting relationships with other organizations and service providers around public health. These encounters will provide The Health Department and our partner agencies an opportunity to collect local data that will help to serve our residents better and identify gaps in service.   

Community Engagement and collaborators: Before each location visit, we will discuss with the property manager, business owner, or organization director to identify any specific needs of the population. An example would be if we visited senior housing, we would bring detailed information on diabetes and smoking, wound care, blood pressure checks, food delivery information, and silver sneakers programs. Our community partners play an essential role in these visits as they each provide a piece of making each person whole. Many of the issues facing people, stress, loss of employment, medical needs, and healthcare navigation, can become stressors and barriers to mentally and physically healthy people. If we can take away those barriers with our partner's help, we increase the chance of a more successful encounter for the resident.