Traveling health center unveiled

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- A 40-foot traveling health center to provide mammography and other services to poor neighborhoods in Nevada will be unveiled Wednesday at the governor's mansion in Carson City.

And starting in February, it will be stationed in Las Vegas until June.

Shirley Fehr, a nurse with the Nevada Rural Health Centers Inc., said the truck, complete with X-ray and examination rooms, will be at special events and in low-income neighborhoods in all counties. In addition to mammography, it will provide Pap smears, osteoporosis screening and other services.

Its location in Las Vegas hasn't been set yet, but Fehr said the program would work with the Clark County Health District. Patients will be billed on a sliding scale based on their income, but no one will be turned away for lack of money.

Dema Guinn, wife of Gov. Kenny Guinn, will host an open house Wednesday for the unit and will join it for its inaugural road trip to Reno, Fernley and Yerington. But its staff won't do any examinations until it is licensed by the state, which is expected to be completed by the early February visit to Las Vegas.

Fehr, a registered nurse, said the mobile clinic will be able to perform about 15 examinations a day. If examinations reveal something suspicious, the patients will be notified immediately. Patients with normal results will receive a letter in about a week notifying them.

In addition to women's health services, screening for diabetes, hypertension, colo-rectal cancer and prostate cancer will be offered. Fehr said appointments for these services are recommended.

When the mobile unit reaches Las Vegas, it will set up a toll-free telephone number.

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