Bring Health Care to 4000 Needy People in Israel

A mobile “clinic” is care that works.
Our clients often share their concerns about a range of issues in their lives that go well beyond a blood pressure screening. These may include problems with their children or spouse, depression, concerns about smoking, finding a job, and paying rent. “People come on the van with their lives,” is what we say.
In the past 12 months our mobile Health and Rights center has helped more than 3,500 people - mainly older Israelis.

YEDID ran 32 "Mobile Health Days," for the most part in residential care facilities, including assisted living facilities, and older adult homes, but also in day centers and healthy living clubs. 

We have navigated complicated logistics in order to take the Mobile Center to far flung places from Carmiel in the North to Netivot in the South.

Mobilizing health care is a simple, obvious, and underutilized idea. This is about taking screenings, primary care, advice, and in some cases even hospital-grade triage out of the building and as close as possible to people’s homes.

Often, in speaking with our clients we discover that they may be eligible for other benefits which they are not receiving and so we investigate this for them even though that was not the reason they turned to YEDID for assistance. For example, thanks to the volunteer working in our Mobile Center, we managed to get recognition for a client – of her husband's insurance case, which eventually turned into a need for professional care in a nursing home. He was eventually granted a long-term care allowance after the couple had fought for it unsuccessfully with the insurance company.  It is clear that many of our clients are simply unaware of their rights and don't even know what to ask regarding benefits that they may be entitled to. In many cases, language and mobility issues also play a part in their inability to claim what is rightfully theirs

The mobile center underwent a number of staffing challenges in the past 12 months but wre delighted that our veteran driver Shmuel who has been with us from day one is still on board.  This has helped us maintain our level of service. Our staff, led by the Director of the Mobile Center, Marina Polinovsky includes 2 nurses who have been with us for several years now and are well versed in elder care.

We are continuing to reach out to look for more sponsors to assist us in continuing and expanding the services which we provide.

 We received funds from Israeli Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, an Israeli multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Petah Tikva, for our operation. We are continuing to reach out to look for more supporters to assist us in continuing and expanding the services which we provide. We have just had a strategic fundraising workshop on August 5th tfacilitated by an outside consultant for senior YEDID staff to locate the ways and means of increasing our Israel giving.