BOARDMAN, Ohio – A collaboration between Akron Children’s and Ronald McDonald House Charities will bring care to more Mahoning Valley children.
Paul Olivier, vice president of Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley Enterprises, said the project started before the pandemic.
“Covid came, and then Ronald McDonald Charities came back to us and wanted to revisit this whole concept,” he said. “And I really have to give them credit because it was their passion for this and their willingness to contribute and make this happen is the reason why we’re here today.”
The two organizations Friday morning led a ceremonial ribbon cutting of the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile to serve underserved areas of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. All services, including well-child visits, immunizations, developmental screenings, asthma care and adolescent health care will be provided face-to-face by health care professionals.
Chris Gessner, president and CEO of Akron Children’s, said the mobile unit aligns with the hospital’s mission.
“I think everyone knows one of our primary goals is providing tremendous access to high quality health care,” he said. “We are very committed to bringing care as close to our patients’ homes as possible, and I see this van as fitting right in that plan with us and helping us extend our services to kids that really need it, that have trouble finding locations for care.”
Gessner said he’s also glad to partner with Ronald McDonald House. The two organizations share a close relationship with their Akron locations situated across a parking lot from each other.
“We’ve done a lot together, and it’s nice to be able to take this next step to really improve access to kids,” he said.
Craig Wilson, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio, said his organization’s mission is to provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families and promote healing when children need health care.
“And I think you can all agree that this vehicle is going to help us with our mission, meeting that out in the community,” Wilson said.
He thanked Akron Children’s for working with the Ronald McDonald House and McDonald’s owner/operators in the Valley for sponsoring the vehicle, as well as the Women’s Board of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, which also sponsored the vehicle.
Brian Dinger, vice president of Akron Children’s Primary Care Network and school based health, said the mobile care unit represents a team effort.
The mobile unit is available for clinics on Wednesdays and Thursdays, according to Benjamin Pecchia, clinical care mobile coordinator.
Organizations interested in scheduling the unit can contact Pecchia at BPecchia2@akronchildrens.org.
Pictured at top: Paul Olivier, Craig Wilson and Chris Gessner stand in front of the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile unit.