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FLORENCE – A unanimous vote of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors has given a new life to a 2007 Fleetwood Discovery mobile clinic by selling it to Hiring and Helping Our Heroes of Pinal County Incorporated (HOHP) for the minimum allowable price of one dollar.
The converted RV had been purchased by Pinal County in 2007, following a generous grant from the Gila River Indian Community, for use as a mobile clinic in the Maricopa area. Since the opening of the Public Health Clinic in Maricopa in 2012, the vehicle has sat in the Fleet Maintenance yard unused.
Supervisor Cheryl Chase and Public Health Services Director Tom Schryer have been working with the group for the past three months regarding the sale of the vehicle. The unanimous vote was a welcome sight for the District 2 Supervisor.
“I am thrilled that this is happening,” Chase said during the hearing. “The services that this vehicle will deliver for our veterans in Pinal County are so desperately needed. I’m sure this RV will be a big help to HOHP.”
“This vehicle was the face of public health in Maricopa from 2007 to 2012, and served hundreds of Pinal County families through those years” Schryer said. “This is a very unique opportunity for the county to put this asset to use in a new role and we are glad to help out our local veterans.”
Kim Rodriguez, the Chairwoman for HOHP said the RV will now be purposed as a mobile veteran’s center.
“Pinal County has about 38,000 to 40,000 veterans,” Rodriguez told the Supervisors. “This number increases during the winter months. Many of our vets have to leave the county to seek intensive services, while some do not seek those services.”
With one Veteran’s Administration Services office for the entire county (located in Casa Grande), the newly acquired RV will be able to travel throughout the county offering a plethora of services for Pinal County veterans.
Rodriguez said the vision for the RV is to bring such services as medical and mental healthcare, offer access to a Veteran’s Administration representative along with bringing a navigator to help users access a variety of services.
“This navigator will be able to offer housing assistance, help to seek out employment opportunities, post-secondary educational opportunities, readjustment and financial counseling and offer referrals to other needed services,” Rodriguez stated.
One request from the Supervisors to Rodriguez was to have the RV’s painting to reflect that this was a gift from the Gila River Indian Community and the people of Pinal County. She said that would be done by the group.
“We have a lot of dreams and hopes for our new mobile center,” Rodriguez said. “This shows Pinal County does indeed stand behind our vets and their families.”
Arizona Revised Statue allows the Board of Supervisors to sell this vehicle for less than fair market value to HOHP due to their non-profit status. Since the Gila River Indian Community was the original funding source for the mobile clinic Pinal County officials sought and received their support for the sale of the vehicle to HOHP.
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