The Valley Chronicle - CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program partners with new

By CSUB. PALM DESERT, Calif. – The CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program has been selected to partner with a new community mobile clinic in the Coachella Valley.

The mobile clinic – the result of collaborative efforts between the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation, Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District, Desert Physicians Medical Group (DPMG) Health, and other community partners – was unveiled at Desert Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Palm Springs on Dec. 2.

The new mobile clinic is a 26-foot vehicle with two examination rooms, a full bathroom and other amenities. It will be licensed and operated by DPMG Health, providing services to traditionally underserved communities across the Coachella Valley. Nursing faculty and students from the CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program will perform mental health assessments and report the results to a psychiatric nurse practitioner who will interview patients online and prescribe medications. The nursing faculty and students will give medications to patients from the on-site supply of medications provided by the DRMC pharmacy program and pharmacy residents. The CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program will also provide nurse clinics and foot soaks to the vulnerable populations served by the mobile unit

“We are so grateful to the District and DPMG for the opportunity to provide unique behavioral health telehealth services to the vulnerable populations in the valley and increase the availability of psychiatric medications for persons with mental health and substance abuse issues,” said Diane Vines, CSUSB nursing faculty and director of the CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program. “I’d also like to thank the Houston Family Foundation for funding the behavioral health activities that the Nursing Street Medicine team will provide.”

For more information about the CSUSB Nursing Street Medicine Program, contact Diane Vines at diane.vines@csusb.edu or 503-819-4285. Visit the CSUSB Nursing Department website for more information about the university’s nursing program.

About PDC: The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, a doctorate in educational leadership, teaching credentials and certificates. Serving more than 2,200 students, it is the Coachella Valley’s four-year public university and plays a vital role in educating and training the region’s growing population.

For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the Office of Strategic Communication at msinger@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107, or visit the PDC website at www.csusb.edu/pdc.