Congressional delegation celebrates Beebe’s mobile clinic

Beebe Healthcare President and CEO Dr. David Tam said he wanted to name the healthcare provider’s growing mobile clinic Star Fleet in honor of legendary TV show “Star Trek.”

“When I was a kid growing up in Japan, ‘Star Trek’ in Japanese was a way for me to understand what it was to be an American, and to understand there are places where people of different religions, races, colors and beliefs could all work together for the betterment of everybody,” he told about 100 people gathered at Beebe's Specialty Surgical Hospital on the Abessinio Health Campus Dec. 8.

He said working together to make healthcare in rural Sussex County better is what Beebe’s growing mobile clinic fleet is intended to do.

Dr. Bill Chasanov, chief health systems design officer for Beebe, recalled using a Sussex County mobile library unit in 2021 to reach people for COVID testing and vaccinations, and realizing it was fantastic.

“From there was really the innovation and idea that we needed a fleet of mobile units to be able to meet patients where they are,” he said. 

The fleet has grown from one to two to now five mobile units that will deliver healthcare throughout Sussex County.

Beebe’s leaders were joined by Delaware’s congressional delegation, Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Sen. Chris Coons and Rep. Sarah McBride.

Blunt Rochester said she is proud to celebrate the $700,000 mobile health unit and the community that will be served. More than $3 million in federal funding was secured for the mobile unit and other projects at Beebe, officials said. The new mobile additions include a 28-foot Winnebago with an exam room, triage/registration/phlebotomy station and a wet bath for wound care; a 24-foot Extended Sprinter Van with exam room and triage station; and a 21-foot Sprinter Van, which is a support vehicle for staff and supplies during outreach events.

With her own “Star Trek” reference, Blunt Rochester gave credit to Tam for making the mobile units a reality by saying with him, “resistance is futile.”

Coons said another $1.75 million in appropriations for Beebe should soon be finalized.

“What we’re celebrating today is three years of effort by our delegation, and we have more to do with you,” he said.

McBride said Beebe is building a healthcare system that meets the needs of Sussex Countians and helps the state live up to its values as a state of neighbors.

“This is a county for decades now that has struggled more than the other two counties with access to quality, affordable healthcare,” she said. “The fleet ... is the byproduct of our healthcare leaders, our political leaders, the private sector, the public sector, personal philanthropy, corporate philanthropy and government philanthropy coming together to build the facilities and spaces for tomorrow.”