513Relief Bus brings innovative community outreach to 1819 Innovation Hub

As health outcomes plummeted and economic indicators declined, residents faced a dearth of resources due to pandemic-induced accessibility issues.

The best sources of support were primarily located in downtown Cincinnati, far from many vulnerable citizens. On top of that, limited hours and pandemic-related guidelines made it tough for residents to get the help they needed. That is, until Hamilton County’s 513Relief Bus rolled out.

The 513Relief Bus was established in 2020 to “provide health screenings, social services and economic relief” to Hamilton County residents, in their own neighborhoods. Its core tenets of equity, inclusivity and accessibility have helped the 513Relief Bus transform lives throughout Greater Cincinnati.

“The mission of the bus is to provide equity and access to Hamilton County residents, regardless of where they are,” said Travina Adams, the 513Relief program manager for the Hamilton County Department of Economic Inclusion and Equity. It does so by “being able to provide resources and services that otherwise many residents would not have access to.”

“Our goal is to provide services to residents so when they get off the bus, they get off with something they didn’t have when they got on,” she said. “It’s giving them something tangible.”

On July 23, the 513Relief Bus hit the road for the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub to reach out to a unique community: students. The event targeted high schoolers interested in the medical field and was put on in collaboration with The Health Collaborative.

“The purpose of our event at 1819 was to give [the students] a simulation of what the 513Relief Bus does,” Adams said. “I wanted them to understand social determinants of health. I wanted them to understand health disparities.”

By educating Cincinnati’s next generation of health professionals about the region’s pressing needs, Adams and her team hope to reduce the glaring health disparities that persist in the Queen City. Adams sees firsthand that there are striking differences in income, health and life expectancy among Hamilton County residents, where some are $30,000 poorer and live 26 years less.

Despite existing challenges across Greater Cincinnati, the 513Relief Bus team is optimistic about the future. There are plenty of reasons to be, too, due to the mobile care unit’s services.

“We’ve helped over 20,000 people with our state-of-the-art 513Relief Bus,” Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece said. “Hamilton County is delivering essential mobile health and economic services directly to residents across the county. By leveraging technology and modernizing our approach, we’re leading the way for community support, creating a national model for effective service delivery.”

The 513Relief Bus is an innovative concept meant to address some of the region’s shortcomings, and UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub was the right host for the event. 1819 is a forward-thinking nexus of new ideas, and high schoolers were able to join its innovative ecosystem of game-changers as they considered practical solutions to increase equity in Cincinnati.

For Adams, working at the 513Relief Bus allows her to make an urban impact and transform lives. Whether she’s on the streets helping underserved communities or teaching the next generation about Hamilton County’s mobile clinic, Adams feels the same way: “I love what I do.”

Featured image at top: 513Relief Bus parked at UC's 1819 Innovation Hub. Photo/Stephen Kenney