For more than 50 years, UC San Diego Health Sciences has had one mission: to deliver outstanding patient care, groundbreaking research and inspired teaching. Our community is key — and has always been — to the mission of our schools, centers, institutes and UC San Diego Health. From our affiliate clinics across the county to CPR initiatives for all San Diegans through our Revive & Survive initiative, we are committed to improving health and saving lives in every corner of the region.
One way we deliver on our commitment to our neighbors is by meeting them where they are. We also have a variety of mobile units traveling to and serving schools, major community events and local organizations.
I’d like to take this opportunity to share more about three of our high-impact mobile initiatives:
EyeMobile for children and adults
The UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute EyeMobile for Children conducts free vision screenings and eye exams and provides glasses to children across San Diego County. Over the past 25 years, the mobile unit has screened more than 238,000 children and provided 19,285 free pairs of glasses. A mobile unit for adults and seniors began operating in 2024 and has already reached thousands of patients as it travels to senior residences, public libraries and more.
UC San Diego Health Mobile Health Program
The UC San Diego Health Mobile Health Program brings care directly to communities through two distinct units: the General Mobile Clinic and the Mammography Mobile Clinic. The general clinic visits historically underserved neighborhoods to provide point-of-care testing including diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol. Students from our schools of medicine, pharmacy and public health support service delivery as part of rotations or volunteer experiences.
The mammography clinic provides routine screening mammograms and breast health education in collaboration with community-based organizations and other partners.
More than 1,500 patients in our community have been served since these two clinics launched in fall 2025.
Mobile Assessment of Drugs and Driving Impairment
Another new mobile research unit, known as MADDI (Mobile Assessment of Drugs and Driving Impairment), is designed to support controlled, real-world research on substance use and driving performance.
This fully modified van pairs a driving simulator with laboratory capabilities, enabling the School of Medicine’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research — the longest-running clinical cannabis research center in the nation — to study the effects of cannabis products on drivers’ ability and impairment while maintaining rigorous experimental control. The research will generate critical evidence to inform policy, prevention strategies and public health responses.
I am continually inspired by the incredible efforts of our faculty and staff to offer more services directly to our communities. Not only do these Health Sciences mobile units provide trainees with hands-on opportunities to apply their training outside traditional academic and clinical settings, they also support research, data collection and community partnerships that strengthen evidence-based practice and health equity.
Please read more about these initiatives in the accompanying Today article, "UC San Diego’s Mobile Health Units Deliver Care and Bring Cutting-Edge Research to Local Communities.”
