The U.S.–based Mobile Healthcare Association has proudly announced Delta resident Robin Gardner as this year’s Innovation Award recipient.
This award recognizes Gardner’s contributions to advancing mobile care delivery, particularly to underserved communities.
Gardner has worked closely with the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) for many years. He was one of the two staff from PHSA to transform the legacy units of the mobile care hospital vehicle used at the 2010 Olympic Games in Whistler into a provincial care program.
“The care units embrace medical care, dental care, vision care, and mental health care,” Gardner said. “We will see more outreach to mobile care for their use across the province where the populations that don’t receive care but should.”
It was his vision and dedication to expanding his teaching on a global scale that earned him this award.
Over the years, Gardner put his efforts into developing the core curriculum for an Intensive Training Course, which aimed at expanding and equipping new mobile care programs twice yearly across the United States, Canada, and, increasingly, worldwide. The teaching also extends to designing mobile settings for harm reduction, addressing mental health concerns, and advocating for expanded access to primary care for challenged populations.
“We did a seven-month deployment to the Downtown Eastside with the drug problem, and that gave us the opportunity to better understand what harm reduction actually means for that segment of underserved populations,” Gardner said. “I take my experience with that and translate into the contributions that I’ve managed to make in the States.”
Meanwhile, Gardner is also a key member of the Mobile Medical Team in Provincial Operations, based in Tilbury, which recently provided critical assistance during wildfire evacuations at Vancouver International Airport.
The Mobile Healthcare Association is renowned for its commitment to promoting and serving the mobile health field, and the award truly highlights Gardner’s continuous efforts with a lasting impact on healthcare delivery worldwide, as well as the importance of mobile care in the broader healthcare horizon.
