Roadside medical clinics in Texas, Oklahoma to serve truckers

Truckers traveling along Interstate 20 through Dallas come February can receive medical care at a roadside clinic.

The Brough Group International, a Houston-based physician-staffing and investment company, signed a contract Wednesday worth more than $165,000, to open 11 clinics at truck stops in Texas and Oklahoma.

The nation's 3.4 million truck drivers – some arriving today for an annual truck show at the Dallas Convention Center – often forgo routine doctor visits to pick up and drop off their next load.

As a result, they're at a higher risk for low-back pain, heart attacks, hypertension, ulcers, and cancers of the bladder, lung and prostate, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Professional over-the-road drivers need to be taken care of just like the rest of society," said Dr. Royce Brough, an emergency room physician and CEO of the Brough Group.

Long Haul Clinics LLC, the Fort Meyers, Fla.-based operator of Roadside Medical Clinics, licensed out the clinic sites to the Brough Group. The Dallas location, opening in February, will be at 8787 S. Lancaster Road.

Long Haul has an exclusive contract for trucker-friendly clinics with Pilot Travel Centers, the nation's largest truck stop chain, with 300 locations in 41 states. Long Haul plans 80 truck stop clinics.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/082009dnmettruckerhealth.3cabc3c.html

I'm glad they will have some care.

nt

I wonder if these will be staffed with MDs or nurse practitioners, like the Minute Clinics.

It's also worth noting that they will also be available to others who show up at the clinics. That's not a bad thing at all. We need more such clinics.