Clear Choice Clinic recently unveiled a new mobile medical unit, custom built by Nomad Global Communication Solutions to boast advanced technology and be suited for Montana’s weather and roads year-round.
The mobile unit will allow the Kalispell clinic, which is under the umbrella of Hope Pregnancy Ministries, to bring its “life-giving” services to outlying communities, beginning with Eureka and Browning and later likely extending to Polson, Libby, Hungry Horse and beyond.
Those services include pregnancy diagnoses through limited obstetrical ultrasounds and pregnancy testing, as well as free and low-cost STD testing and treatment.
Michelle Reimer, executive director of both Hope Pregnancy Ministries and Clear Choice Clinic, said the clinic has received feedback over the years that its services could be used in other communities, and the mobile medical unit, which had a grand opening on April 27, answers those calls.
“We’re growing really fast,” Reimer said of the clinic. “That’s exciting — it keeps us running all the time. The addition of the mobile unit is huge.”
Hope Pregnancy Ministries began in 1999 under the name Hope Pregnancy Center as part of Easthaven Baptist Church. The center was formed by three Kalispell women and a local pastor who “were challenged with the truth that making an impact in the lives of the unborn meant offering an alternative to abortion.”
The center left Easthaven in 2003 and achieved independent nonprofit status. It changed its corporate name to Hope Pregnancy Ministries in September 2006, and that same year the ministry’s board approved a medical clinic “in an effort to reach more women at risk for abortion,” according to Hope Pregnancy Ministries’ website. The following year Clear Choice Clinic opened.
“We are a life-affirming organization,” Reimer said. “We believe abortion is a decision that can cause hurt and pain in a woman’s life, but we also know it’s her choice.”
The clinic says it provides resources for patients to “make a decision that is right” for them.
“Our roots are faith-based,” Reimer said. “But this is a doctor’s office. We’re here to provide support and real medical information.”
The clinic initially offered pregnancy testing, limited obstetrical ultrasounds and education and consultations, all of which it still offers, although over the years it also began offering STD testing and treatment for both women and men. Its medical director is Dr. John Lavin, a Kalispell physician.
Reimer said the clinic, accredited through the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc., never charges for an office visit or pregnancy test, and the only lab charges are fees imposed by off-site testing laboratories. The clinic also does some lab tests in-house.
The clinic is entirely donor funded, as is the mobile unit, and Reimer is hoping to spread the word about the unit leading up to its official Flathead Valley launch date the week of June 10.
“Until then we’ll be out in the community raising awareness and hopefully some of the operating expenses, which will be significant, keeping in mind everything is donor funded,” Reimer said. “It gives individuals and organizations the opportunity to see how they can come along and get behind it.”
The Gianforte Family Foundation funded roughly one-third of the unit’s costs, while the Knights of Columbus footed nearly another one-third, and Nomad “gave us a huge discount basically in the form of a donation,” Reimer said.
Clear Choice shares the mobile unit with a similar organization called Care Net Pregnancy Center in Missoula. Each clinic will have the vehicle for half the time, and Care Net is expected to launch earlier, Reimer said.
The mobile medical unit sits on a Ford F-650 chassis and is powered by a diesel engine equipped to handle mountain passes. The unit itself is 30 feet long, with a waiting room and reception area, exam room, lab area, spacious bathroom, kitchenette and other features.
Every service offered at the Kalispell clinic will be offered in the mobile unit, except for the clinic’s new mental health counseling, which starts up this week. The clinic hired more nurses and drivers to operate the unit.
“It’s so roomy and so homey, really a comfortable space for our patients and staff,” Reimer said. “I think it’s remarkable.”