The Weld Department of Public Health and Environment took a big step toward its goal of bringing care closer to its residents with the launch of a new mobile health unit that will provide services to all corners of the county.
Equipped with two private exam rooms, secure storage for medical supplies and wireless connectivity for electronic records and Telehealth consultations, the unit will head all around Weld County — focusing on rural areas, underserved communities and areas where health care is limited.
“Weld County is the size of a lot of states from the northeast,” Public Health Services Director Shaun May said at the unit’s debut Monday morning. “And we are very large population-wise, as well. We want to take care of those folks in a way that has, quite frankly, never been done before.”
While the unit will have some capability to provide back-end care in emergency situations, it’s primary use will be in prevention.
“This is not an ambulance,” May said. “We do clinical services of public health significance. That’s preventative stuff that helps people stay healthier and avoid those acute or chronic illnesses.”
May said that covers everything from vaccines to STI testing to health education.
The idea for the unit originally came to be on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department had organized several vaccination sites during the throes of the virus, and May noticed that though transmission numbers were going down, the public demand for vaccinations hadn’t.
A bed inside Weld County’s new mobile health unit at its debut on April 7, 2025 at the county administration building. The unit will focus on serving rural areas, underserved communities and areas where health care is limited. (Chris Bolin/Staff Reporter)Starting in 2022, the department went mobile — hauling supplies in employees’ personal vehicles all across the county.
“Our goal was to do 30 events that first year,” May said. “We did 100.”
By 2023, May said the department had to start turning people away because they just didn’t have the resources.
“I was kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul with the clinical staff,” May said.
That won’t be a problem any more. The department is staffing two nurses and a medical assistant assigned to the unit when it is out and about.
Originally, it is slated to be out an about two or three days a week, but May hopes — and fully expects — to expand that moving forward.
He envisions partnerships with municipalities, schools, health clinics, nonprofits and more. He even encourages private businesses — especially rural farms and other operations where employees may struggle to make it to Greeley — to contact the department to see about getting vaccines and other healthcare for workers and their families.
“We can bring it to them, because we know the challenges,” May said. “They may have one car for multiple families or face other logistical issues.”
Thanks to state grants and other funding sources, May said the services the unit provides will be free of charge to the patient — though they may ask for insurance information to bill the company on the back end to collect what they can.
“We’re not taking money in this thing,” May said.
With the debut of the new unit Monday, May said he and his department are in a position not many across the state — or country — find themselves in.
May said a county department having any mobile unit is far from a guarantee. Having one this size is almost unheard of.
In 2024, there were just 13 mobile health units in the state — the majority of which are owned and operated by health care facilities, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.
May said the few public health departments that operate mobile clinics typically do so out of vans with much lower capabilities.
“This is big time,” May said. “I would put this up against any public health department in the nation.”
An absolute unit
At 30 feet long, 10 feet wide and 12 feet tall, the mobile unit will be tough to miss as it makes its way around Weld County.
It was built by Summit Bodyworks, a company just south of Fort Lupton that builds specialty vehicles. It cost $526,565 — more than $120,000 below the county’s budget of $650,000.
Despite its size, the unit weighs less than 26,000 pounds — meaning the driver doesn’t need a commercial license to operate it. Weld Director of Fleet Services David Springer said that was intentional to allow one of medical professionals in the unit to double as the driver.
All employees that may drive the unit are undergoing drivers training, according to Springer.
The inside of the unit was designed basically from scratch. Springer said he started with a blank piece of paper and listened to what those who would be using the unit wanted in it. Once he drew up a basic layout, he turned it over to Summit for the final details.
Approximately four months later, the department has the newest addition to its fleet.
For more information on the mobile unit, including to request for an event or organization, go to Weldhealth.org. From there, scroll down and click on the “Weld County Public Health Mobile Unit” button.
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