MedStar Health Kids Mobile Medical Clinic Debuts New Look and Celebrates a $1.1 Million Philanthropic Investment From Monumental Sports & Entertainment

More than three decades of service to children and adolescents in D.C.’s Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8 will continue for the next five years thanks to a major donation.

WASHINGTON — MedStar Health and Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) are proud to introduce their collaboration on the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic, which includes a newly-designed version of the well-known and well-loved pediatric health center on wheels that now showcases MSE’s sports team logos. Since 1992, the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic — which is run through the Division of Community Pediatrics at MedStar Health — has provided high-quality, convenient, and affordable primary care to thousands of children and adolescents across Washington, D.C.’s Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Each year, the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic reaches an average of 800 patients — ranging from newborns to 21-year-olds — with approximately 1,600 patient visits. In the past four years alone, the clinic has seen more than 3,500 individual patients in more than 7,000 visits and provided more than 1,600 screenings for social determinants of health including food insecurity, housing, education, income, community safety and more.

Children are seen regardless of their insurance status, and families are never billed for care. The clinic routinely provides communities with well child visits, vision and hearing screenings, lab testing, sick visits, immunizations, mental health and social needs screenings, integrated mental health and care coordination teams, and community resource and specialist referrals. 

“The Kids Mobile Medical Clinic brings high quality, holistic, caring healthcare directly into neighborhoods where families live,” said Janine Rethy, MD, MPH, division chief of Community Pediatrics at MedStar Health. “Thanks to our wonderful partners at Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the unwavering commitment from our health system, we look forward to continuing to provide accessible and convenient care to our families in the District for another three decades and beyond.” 

Enhancements to the mobile clinic were made possible through a very generous donation from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, with additional annual contributions over five years to fund clinic operations. MedStar Health recognizes the impact of this tremendous donation, which ensures the continuation of the clinic’s critically important care services and strengthens MedStar Health’s efforts to improve healthcare access in the District. 

“Over the next several years, this investment will enable thousands of District children and their families to receive medical care and social support in order to live healthy and productive lives,” shared Monumental Sports & Entertainment Founder & CEO Ted Leonsis. “Giving back to the community of fans who support our teams and athletes is a priority for all of us at MSE, and I’m proud to further the work of this incredible program from the excellent team of care providers at MedStar Health.”

“We are truly grateful to Monumental Sports & Entertainment for this generous gift that will help keep the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic running for the families that have depended on its services for over 30 years,” said Kenneth A. Samet, FACHE, president and CEO of MedStar Health. “This is a partnership committed to making equitable, world-class healthcare available to everyone in the District. Together, we will continue to improve lives and uplift our communities.”  

As a result of the generous support from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic will be able to maintain the two-unit model which, in addition to core pediatric care, includes the co-location of a second mobile unit to deliver wellbeing services to address the complex social and mental health risk factors that impact the health outcomes of the children and families receiving care. The clinic’s integrated health team, including the family services worker, the clinical social worker, and the wellbeing coordinator, will continue to provide team-based visits alongside pediatricians and families to deliver direct services while connecting families to critical programs and services so they can be healthy and thrive. 

The clinic’s two 400-square-foot vehicles — the mobile medical unit and the wellbeing unit — have begun to debut state-of-the-art upgrades to functionality and service along with a new blue-and-maize exterior design. The design also includes the logos of parent company MSE and several of the teams it owns, including the Washington Capitals, Wizards, Mystics and Capital City Go-Go. The fleet will maintain its regular four day per week schedule treating patients on-site outside public housing communities in southeast D.C. 

The Kids Mobile Medical Clinic is just one example of many public health collaborations between MedStar Health and Monumental Sports & Entertainment over recent years. Since 2019, Monumental has donated more than $6 million to MedStar Health for projects and initiatives including: 

• D.C. Safe Babies Safe Moms, a collaborative initiative with MedStar Health that aims to bolster maternal and infant health in the nation’s capital. Additionally, MSE supported MedStar Health’s Center for Wellbeing. 
• The response to COVID-19 and vaccination efforts during the pandemic. 
• The enhancement of the sports medicine program at MedStar Health’s Lafayette Centre — where patients receive outpatient surgery, physical therapy, and rehabilitation. 

For appointments and additional information, contact the Kids Mobile Medical Clinic at 202-444-8888. 

Video and still images from the MedStar Health Kids Mobile Medical Clinic ribbon cutting are available here.