The white-framed clinic is sometimes found next to St. Michael's Pavilion on 19th Street in Union City. Other times, it can be seen making its way down 62nd Street in West New York or stationed outside Emerson High School in Union City. It can also be found in parts of North Bergen, Guttenberg, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken and Kearny, depending on what day it is. Sometimes the clinic can be found plugged into a traffic-light socket to conserve energy or at a nearby gas station getting its tank filled. To the untrained eye, the mobile health center looks more like a trailer home parked at strange places, but a closer inspection reveals otherwise. On several sides of the van is the logo of the North Hudson Community Action Corporation (NHCAC), which owns and operates it. The NHCAC, based in West New York, provides an umbrella of services and programs for mental and physical health care, nutrition education, food assistance, emergency shelter, day care, immigration and naturalization, job placement and energy and home repair assistance. It has several offices in Hudson County and four community health centers. But despite a colorful logo placed several places on the vehicle, the van could easily be mistaken for something else. Indeed, some people don't know what to make of it, said Jose Roque, a nutrition specialist and HIV counselor who sometimes travels on it. "Sometimes they come in and say, we want to go to New York," Roque said. "And I tell them it's not a bus then they say oh, we're sorry. Or sometimes they come in and fill out the proper forms and once I'm going to do a nutrition test, they say, wait a minute, isn't this to give out coupons? Some believe it's to donate blood or check their prostate." But once inside, it's hard to be confused. The van is equipped with a medical table, medical instruments, bathroom, kitchen and lab area, two refrigerators, a freezer, a microwave, a television and VCR, and a waiting area. "We can provide the same services [as] a clinic," said Tommy Fernandez, a driver of the mobile health van since 1997. "We do screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, hemoglobin tests, the distribution of WIC checks (women, infants, and children) and Kid Care (a state program assisting children who have no medical insurance up to the age of 18). We are wheelchair-accessible and a state licensed ambulatory care facility." When a doctor is on board, physical examinations and pregnancy tests also can be administered. Fernandez said that around 20 people will visit the van on a daily basis from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, sometimes extending to 7 p.m. if needed. All visitors must fill out a form stating their name, age, social security number and insurance information along with other data. The van is also equipped with a server, laptop and printer that are connected to a main database for fact-checking. WIC checks can be printed out from the computer. When the mobile center is unable to treat someone, they are referred to one of the main clinics, said Fernandez. The van is usually operated by two to three persons: a driver, a nutritionist, and sometimes a doctor. Who's on board On the day a reporter visited, Deidre Disanza was the nutritionist accompanying Fernandez, but there was no doctor on board. Disanza has been involved since 1995. Her job is to recommend a checklist diet to patients of the mobile clinic who might be lacking certain nutrients. A doctor is not always on board, because it depends on the service that is scheduled for any particular day. A doctor may not be needed when the van visits a site to administer WIC checks, but a doctor may be needed another day to administer blood screenings or other tests. The mobile center administers most services provided at one of four health centers operated by the NHCAC. Michael Leggiero, president of NHCAC, said the mobile center is like an arm of the main clinics because it can reach communities that the clinic cannot. It is especially helpful to senior citizens who may find it difficult to travel to and from the clinic twice or more during the week for blood screenings. Leggiero said there is certainly a demand for the van, which visits sites only after it is requested to do so by someone. But a facility or place where several people can use it must request the van. At such locations, the van will usually park for several hours during a day where it is easily accessible to most people. At the beginning of each month, a schedule is created and posted at senior citizen homes, and at all places the van is scheduled to visit. The van provides year-round health care service and because it uses so much energy with a 32,000 BTU air conditioning and heating system, it has the ability to be plugged into a traffic signal socket to rest its generator. But this is hardly done except when really needed at someplace like a health fair, said Roque. Leggiero said the health center van is one of a kind and was purchased with grant funds from the state. "Deborah Jones, the State WIC director, came to visit us," Leggiero said. "The WIC director said, 'You know, we would like to get you a vehicle for transportation, like a mobile health center or WIC mobile.' And I said, 'Oh, really, this sounds wonderful.' She said, 'There is only one problem; there is federal money. You have to go out and get bids by the end of September.'" The state was willing to give $125,000 to the NHCAC for the van, said Leggiero. Phone calls were quickly made and a company in Ohio was found to create the van. Everything was finalized before the Sept. 29, 1996 deadline. Leggiero said the NHCAC is considering the acquisition of another van since the first one has been so successful. Service has now expanded to include HIV testing. Roque, a certified HIV counselor, will be administering tests. He said all that is now needed is a request by someone to have the test administered. For more information about the mobile health center schedule, call the North Hudson Community Action Corporation at (201) 866-2255.