KarunaNews Story

Lovelock, Nev., a small desert town northeast of Reno, is hosting its annual health fair, which includes a mobile health clinic brought here by the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, located about an hour away. Accessing quality health care has long been an issue for tribal nations, especially in rural areas, and was amplified five years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Jon Pishion, director of the Fallon Tribal Health Center. The tribe bought a mobile clinic last year, funded by a $673,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture aimed at expanding rural healthcare access after the pandemic. It drives to the Lovelock Paiute and Yomba Shoshone reservations, covering a territory of about 200 miles. Mobile health clinics are also being used by the Navajo Nation, White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona and Fort Peck Tribes in Montana.