5 things to know about Penn State’s Lion Mobile Clinic, offering free health care in PA

A Penn State mobile medical unit created four years ago to serve Snow Shoe after the community lost its only local clinic continues to expand, bringing free health services to communities across Centre County and beyond. The Lion Mobile Clinic operates with a “tailgate medicine concept,” traveling by pickup truck or Airstream unit and carrying essential equipment in a backpack.

FULL STORY: How Penn State’s ‘tailgate medicine concept’ continues to grow in reach, impact

Here are key takeaways:

• The clinic went to more than 100 events last year and served 2,814 people, primarily in Centre County. Leaders plan to maintain that pace in 2026.

• Services are free and no insurance is required. The clinic initially focused on cardiovascular screenings for diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension but has expanded to include cancer-related screenings and oral health services.

• The unit is staffed by students in medicine career pathways and volunteer resident medics supervised by faculty. “We want to make health services approachable by bringing it down to the basics, a truck with the tailgate down, and tools in a backpack,” said Dr. Michael McShane, a State College-based assistant professor of medicine.

• The clinic collaborates with institutions like the Pennsylvania Cancer Institute to offer screenings for skin and cervical cancer.

• Community leaders can request the clinic’s services at med.psu.edu/education/student-life/lion-mobile-clinic, where a calendar of upcoming events is also posted.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.