Bi-State Development, in partnership with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, will introduce a new Mobile Health Screening Unit on December 1. The mobile unit, called Links 2 Health, will serve four Metro transit centers in North St. Louis County.
Bi-State Development through its not-for-profit enterprise, the Bi-State Development Research Institute, received a $940,000 federal grant to fund a pilot program to bring basic health screenings to transit riders and the communities surrounding the transit centers. The St. Louis County Department of Public Health will bring the mobile unit one day a week to the Wellston Transit Center, the North Hanley Transit Center in Berkeley, the Rock Road MetroLink Station in Pagedale and the North County Transit Center in Ferguson.
Health assessments, blood pressure screenings and diabetes screening for adults age 18 and older are among the basic screenings that will be provided at no charge. Adults in need will be provided assistance in applying for health insurance and making primary care appointments for follow-up. The funding for the Links 2 Health program comes from in the form of a Rides to Wellness Demonstration and Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration. One of just 19 awarded in 16 states and the only one awarded in Missouri, the grants support programs that help connect people to much-needed health care services through improved access to public transportation.
