Bridging the health care gap for people in the U.S.
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clinics held
COVID vaccinations
dental patients
When Medical Teams was founded in 1979, we focused on helping people facing crises in other countries. But it quickly became clear that there was an enormous need in the U.S. for the kind of care we provided internationally. Our mobile dental program launched in 1989 and has served our neighbors in the Pacific Northwest ever since.
Today, our Care & Connect Mobile Health clinics are the next generation of our original mobile dental program. We now offer regular and comprehensive health clinics that provide free medical and dental services in places where people can easily access them.
Our programs rely on the strength of our incredible volunteers, who give their time to work alongside our staff in caring for people in their own backyards. When patients board our vans, they’re met with compassionate people who offer a menu of services, free of charge. We do everything from dental services to mental health screenings that help identify health concerns long before there’s an emergency. If someone needs specialized follow-up care, we connect them to low or no-cost resources. We’re also ready to respond to disasters and health emergencies in the Pacific Northwest, bringing experienced medical care in our vans to people in their times of need.
More than anything, we’re honoring the dignity of our neighbors here in the U.S. by building bridges across the gaps in our health care system.
Our areas of work
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Barriers to health care in the U.S. exist in many forms. Nearly 10% of people in the U.S. lack health insurance, and many more don’t have dental insurance. Without insurance, medical care is expensive. Even with insurance, sometimes people have a hard time getting access to health care — treatments aren’t covered or there are long wait times for Medicaid.
Our clinics help people who are limited by geography, finances, or language barriers. We’re proud to provide free, mobile, and patient-centered health care to seasonal farmworkers, veterans, older adults, and everyone in between.
For over 30 years, Medical Teams has provided free dental care throughout the Pacific Northwest. Now, our mobile health clinics have evolved to include basic medical care. From rural farms to food banks, we bring medical care to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to health care.
Though the demand for dental care brings many people to our mobile health clinics, it’s often not their only unmet health concern. Our patients struggle with issues like diabetes, high blood pressure and mental health conditions. Many of them don’t have a regular medical or dental provider to provide continual, long-term care.
Through Care & Connect Mobile Health, we deliver services that address those issues. We fill gaps in a way that complements the care of existing providers, if there are any. We connect patients to follow-up care that will help them stay healthy. Our goal is to bring holistic care to the people who need it most.
Learn more about Care & Connect Mobile Health
Though our founders focused on international disaster response, sometimes disasters strike close to home. When they do, we’re ready. Medical Teams’ disaster response in the U.S. began with a mission to send volunteer trauma counselors to comfort rescue workers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since then, we’ve sent personal hygiene and health kits, as well as volunteer workers, to ease the suffering of survivors of natural disasters across the country, from wildfires to earthquakes to pandemics.
In the last 2 decades, we’ve seen an exponential rise in the number of emergency declarations across the U.S. Requests for aid have doubled, and even tripled, in some regions. Medical Teams is ready to meet the needs of our neighbors in the Pacific Northwest by providing loving, life-saving medical care when disasters happen.
Learn more about U.S. Programs Disaster Response
Our U.S. Programs team consists of 30 staff members based throughout the Pacific Northwest and supported by our main office in Tigard, Oregon. We’re blessed to work alongside more than one hundred volunteers who dedicate their time to helping their neighbors access loving, life-saving health care.
Note: The numbers and statistics reflected on this page were collected from October 2022 – September 2023.
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