Geo Strategy for Multnomah County’s Mobile Health Vans
The Gartrell Group’s Geo Strategy Team recently partnered with the Multnomah County Department of Health to develop a strategic plan and information architecture for a new mobile application designed to connect at‑risk populations with timely, high‑quality care delivered through mobile health clinics. The initiative supports the Tri‑County Mobile Van Collaborative, formed in June 2024 to share information, resources, and promising practices across county and partner organizations.
Grounded in Community Values
This work is guided by shared values that center equity and trust:
Culturally responsive services and adaptability
Relationships and partnerships
Equitable access to low‑barrier, high‑quality care
Consistency as the foundation of trust
Overcoming geopolitical barriers to extend services across boundaries
Meeting people where they are
Why Mobile Vans—and Why Now
Large disparities persist across leading diagnoses and local treatment options. Mobile health vans help bridge these gaps by bringing care directly to communities—reducing travel burdens, increasing flexibility, and improving continuity. Current and planned services include primary and urgent care, lab testing, medication refills, STI testing and treatment, vaccinations, substance use treatment (methadone and buprenorphine), reproductive and women’s health, dental, mental health, vision, harm‑reduction supplies, showers and laundry, referrals, and language interpretation.
The App: Real‑Time Coordination at the Point of Contact
The envisioned mobile application will empower social and outreach workers to identify and schedule care coordination at the point of contact. Core goals include:
Centralizing real‑time data on van locations, available services, and appointment slots—with privacy‑aware discovery controls for agency services
Streamlining access so community members can connect with the most appropriate and proximal mobile services
Ethical and decolonized data practices to analyze service gaps and usage patterns while protecting privacy and minimizing risk
Our Geo Strategy Contribution
The Geo Strategy Team delivered strategy and architecture to set the project up for success:
Delineation of user groups/personas, privacy settings, and app architecture designed to protect sensitive data and respect community agency
Considerations to help enable healthcare professionals, social workers, community outreach teams, and 211 staff to route clients to nearby vans quickly and confidently
Functional specifications and policy criteria to guide product design and development
A data‑informed approach: overlaying map layers of public health indicators (e.g., diabetes, cancer, substance use disorder), payer‑level billing data that highlight diagnostic/treatment gaps, and EHR data‑lake health indicators to help operators focus on areas of greatest need
As needs evolve, vanoperators will be able to notify other operators to converge services where demand is highest. Over time, multiple vans can cluster complementary services (e.g., dental, mental health, and showers) at specific locations and times to improve continuity and outcomes.
Functional Objectives: Analytics That Drive Action
The app is being designed to deliver actionable insights across public health and GIS:
Spatial epidemiology & GIS: tracking/visualizing van locations, hot‑spot identification, proximity analysis, and environmental context
Surveillance: real‑time data collection, syndromic surveillance, and outbreak detection
Population health & demographics: service coverage analysis and equity/needs assessments
Data management & analysis: standardized data collection, privacy and security, and system integration
Collaboration That Makes a Difference
This effort is strengthened by partners across technology and public health. In addition to dedicated team members from the County Health and IT teams, Esri State and Local and Esri Health team members have been key collaborators, supporting geospatial architecture, data strategy, and solution patterns that align with county priorities.
What’s Next
The next phase will design and build the application, including data‑gathering, transmission, and storage capabilities that uphold privacy and security policies while supporting real‑time operations and analytics. The County’s Esri GIS platform will be central to the effort, likely including integrated functionality from ArcGIS Enterprise and Hub.
The Gartrell Group works extensively across the public sector and health—bringing geospatial strategy, data integration, and product design together to improve access and equity. We’re honored to support Multnomah County in delivering a platform that helps providers meet people where they are and expand access to low‑barrier, high‑quality care.