Joanna Lewis, MD, hopes to find herself out of a job.
It’s not because she doesn’t enjoy her work. It’s because she hopes all children will one day have access to the care and vaccines they need to be healthy.
“I always say that our program goal is to put ourselves out of business,” Lewis said. “I would love for every kid to get insured and to find them a medical home.”
Lewis is the medical director for Advocate Children’s Hospital’s (ACH) mobile health program that brings vaccinations to kids in Chicago’s suburbs.
Since 2016, two vans, two nurse practitioners, and two medical assistants have covered hundreds of square miles of the Chicagoland area, providing childhood vaccines.
The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile clinics enhance ACH’s vaccination efforts. The mobile team is essential to making sure uninsured children and children on Medicaid have access to the physicals and vaccines schools require.
The program, which started in 2008 with one van, now serves more than 300 schools and administers roughly 7,000 vaccines annually.
Overcoming vaccination challenges
Lewis said one of the biggest challenges is obtaining parental consent for immunizations, especially if there are language barriers or low health literacy. The ACH team has translated its consent forms into 10 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, and Russian. Getting parents to send back the forms remains difficult.
“Trust in the system is hard to overcome,” she said. “People don’t want to turn in consent forms with a lot of personal information, so we try to partner with them to let them know that we are trying to provide good care for their children.”
The transient nature of many of the families can also present challenges. Lewis said children who experience housing insecurity may change schools frequently, making immunization records more challenging to track and vaccines that require multiple doses difficult to finish.
Many of the students are first-generation Americans or immigrants and have begun their vaccinations elsewhere. Records are often lost, and it can be difficult to find convenient access to health care.
Lewis said oftentimes working parents don’t have the flexibility to take their kids to appointments within primary care office hours for physicals and vaccinations.
The mobile units provide a solution that helps children stay up to date on their vaccinations and create a relationship with a health care provider.
Comprehensive wellness on the go
Advocate Children’s mobile clinics provide more than vaccines — they offer complete physicals for every child seen.
The team performed 1,400 physical exams and served 3,160 patients in 2024 alone. Their comprehensive approach allows health care providers to screen for more than vaccine compliance.
“We’re going in and taking care of all their medical problems, including social drivers of health screenings and asking mental health questions,” Lewis said. “We have a referral coordinator who reaches out to families to help with other needs, like food or housing. We try to be as wraparound as we can.”
That wraparound goal goes beyond medical care, which is made possible by ACH’s partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities. As part of their outreach, students receive backpacks with school supplies, winter clothing, hygiene products, non-perishable food, and a list of nearby food pantries.
Not only do the backpacks and medical care address kids’ needs, the mobile clinics also help build a bridge for families to trusted health care providers and Advocate Children’s.
“We’re hoping that these experiences leave parents and kids with a positive feeling that makes them a little less wary of the health care system,” Lewis said. “Especially the older kids, we want to empower them to care for their health.”
