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Mohave County accepts communicable disease and mobile-health grants; mobile unit use reported to be rising
Summary
The Board approved budget authority for federal public-health grants that fund communicable-disease staffing and a mobile health unit. Health director reported the mobile unit's recorded visits rose to 116 in July 2025 (from 48 in July 2024) and described outreach to rural communities.
The Mohave County Board of Supervisors approved acceptance and budgeting of federal public-health grant funds on Sept. 16 that will fund communicable-disease staff and operations for a county mobile health unit.
Why it matters: The grants increase public-health operational capacity for rural outreach and communicable-disease monitoring. Supervisors asked for usage data and raised questions about program performance, costs and whether the unit's services best meet community needs.
What staff presented
- Grant timeline and status: Director Kari Palmer said an "enhanced lab capacity" grant was awarded in December 2024 but a federal stop-work order briefly paused the award; the stop-work was rescinded in May 2025 and the county is now able to bill and spend the funds. The board approved creation of the FY budget to receive and spend grant funds.
- Mobile health unit metrics: Palmer reported a July 2025 monthly report showing 116 visits (up from 48 in July 2024) and 77 screenings (up from 31). She said the unit focuses on outlying communities such as Meadview, Dolan Springs and other rural locations to reach residents who lack reliable transportation to county city clinics.
Public comment and board questions
- Public critic and audit request: Jennifer Esposito (Kingman) spoke during the public comment period and asked the board to audit the mobile health unit program, citing perceived low utilization at times and concerns about vehicle condition and service documentation. She suggested verifying how grant funds are spent and whether the unit represents the highest value use of ARPA/grant monies.
- Board response: Supervisors asked staff about tracking and reporting. Director Palmer said detailed visit and screening metrics are available in monthly reports; staff said they could supply further breakdowns of service types and demographics. Several supervisors expressed support for the program, citing elderly and rural residents' transportation barriers and examples of warm handoffs to higher-level care.
Quotes
- "Our staff on the mobile health unit are not the ones that post where they will be," Director Palmer said, explaining scheduling and outreach processes. "We actually have somebody within our office that handles media inquiries and the social media outreach."
- "We had 116 visits in July 2025 compared with 48 visits in July 2024," Palmer said when summarizing usage.
Next steps
- Staff will continue to track and report mobile unit visits by location and service type. The board approved the related grant budget and instructed staff to provide further detail if requested.
Ending: The board approved the public-health grant budget actions; staff said they will provide additional utilization detail and the public may ask for further audit or program review if concerns persist.
