Shalom Zone Mobile Health Ministries
Houston, Texas

The Shalom Zone Mobile Health Ministries were created in 1997 through a mandate of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to address the problem of inadequate, unaffordable and/or inaccessible health services plaguing the Houston area.  Shalom Zone Mobile Health Ministries recognizes that good health improves quality of life and thus seeks to bring healthcare to the underserved. Healthy residents contribute to maintaining wholesome families, and this translates into a vigorous workforce and consequently a stronger, healthier community.  

For the first two years, health services were offered through a mobile medical van unit. At that point, the van could no longer meet the increased demand for services due to lack of access to medical assistance. It became clear that people were lacking medical care for several reasons:   lack of health insurance, an inadequate number of neighborhood clinics or lack of transportation to centrally located public health facilities. In 1999, a 36 foot, fully equipped Mobile Health Clinic was acquired. Today the Mobile Clinic operates three to four days a week and is staffed by a Registered Family Nurse Practitioner, a Community Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) and an LVN/driver. A physician provides medical supervision and is available for consultations.  

The Mobile Clinic visits about 20 different locations each week. Half of those are permanent sites and the other half are visited by request. The Clinic treats all visitors; no one is turned away. However, patients may be referred to the appropriate and available health care provider if one exists. The Clinic is primarily for people who have no health insurance, including no Medicaid, SCHIP or Medicare. Often the patients are undocumented workers and their families. Eighty percent of their patients are women and children. The Mobile Clinic offers 26 different types of screenings and exams as well as referrals for dental and vision services offered by Shalom Zone at other locations. The Clinic offers more than 3,000 services per year.  

The Shalom Zone Mobile Health Clinic is a visionary enterprise made possible through partnerships with local congregations, community hospitals, private foundations and caring individuals.   Their presence in the Houston community mentors and encourages other organizations in the Houston area and beyond to develop accessible, holistic healthcare programs for the underserved.

Contact point:

Rev. Jeremiah Booker
Director, Shalom Zone Ministries
5215 Main Street
Houston, TX  77002
Phone: 713-521-9383
E-mail: jbooker@methodists.net