Buffalo, NY – December 2021 Urban Family Practice has increased its fleet’s number of mobile units from one to four. With the addition of these units, Urban Family Practice will target the communities that need the most help.

Urban Family Practice has committed itself to creating health equity across Buffalo’s East and Westside. With the addition of these new mobile units, that dream can become a reality. The first order of business for the mobile units will address the vaccination disparities on the East side of Buffalo.

The East Side’s current rate of COVID-19 infection is 50 per 100,000: 10 times the rate of Erie County as a whole. East Side vaccination rates lag considerably behind other Erie County zip codes, with less than half of the population fully vaccinated.

We propose a one-year initiative that (1) engages community members on their terms, (2) utilizes faith-based and community leaders, (3) addresses the extreme social vulnerability, and (4) connects marginalized individuals to community-based primary care and social determinants of health services.

Elevated COVID-19 illness and mortality in Buffalo’s East Side are symptomatic of our long-term neglect of the area’s economic and health infrastructure. This project’s mobile clinic investments will outlive this pandemic by offering neighborhood, pop-up clinics to address social determinants of health concerns, chronic disease screening, provider visits, and childhood and adult vaccinations for other diseases. Considering the East Side’s low rates of retention in primary care and overutilization of hospital emergency departments, this project’s one-time investments could markedly improve disease management.

Urban Family Practice would like to thank Honorable April N.M. Baskin, District 2 Chairwoman for her hard work and dedication to making these mobile units a reality.

Urban Family Practice is proudly the oldest private practice on the west side of Buffalo. The mission of Urban Family Practice is to promote health equity by taking the under out of “underserved” communities. Urban Family Practice is an affiliate of G-Health Enterprises, a health care organization that encompasses several affiliates: the Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN), the Greater Buffalo United Accountable Care Organization (GBUACO), and Urban Family Practice (UFP), the Greater Buffalo United IPA (GBUIPA) and the Greater Buffalo United Community Based Organization (GBUCBO).