Kelly Luttinen | Special to The Michigan Catholic
ICU Mobile brings pregnancy testing, ultrasounds to women in high-risk areas
Mobile operations manager Bev Dixon, right, sonographer Marion Sioma and driver Ron Page set off May 21 for the “maiden voyage” of the Image Clear Ultrasound Mobile unit, which will offer free ultrasounds and pregnancy resources in areas of inner-city and Metro Detroit where abortion rates are the highest.Detroit — In the coming months, Detroit residents might notice an unusual recreational vehicle driving around the inner city.
The Image Clear Ultrasound (ICU) mobile unit will be offering free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds to underserved women in the inner city, in the hopes of offering support for those in crisis pregnancies and saving lives.
“We are hoping to reach these women in their own neighborhoods,” said Bev Dixon, Mobile Operations Manager (MOM for short). “We are getting to them where they live, and before they decide to go to the abortion clinic. We want to give them options, and show them they have choices.”
With the support of a Catholic board of directors for Birthchoice Pregnancy Resource Center, including Fr. Eric Fedewa, associate pastor of St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, Dixon has been working to put together a staff and create a schedule with stops throughout the city. The focus is on serving the most at-risk population of women in ZIP codes with the highest abortion statistics.
“Most of these girls don’t even know about the pregnancy centers that can help them with their unplanned pregnancies,” Dixon said.
In the areas ICU Mobile will be targeting (including some locations in the suburbs) there are about 10 sites offering abortions and doing what would seem to be a brisk business. The unit plans to make stops near the clinics.
The preliminary schedule will be to operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at various locations, Dixon said, from parking lots to shopping centers and even one stop near a Department of Health Services and WIC (Women, Infants and Children) office. Other locations are near colleges, high schools and even bus routes. “Most of these girls don’t have other transportation,” she said.
The mobile unit staff will initially rely on help from sidewalk counselors who pray at abortion clinics to steer clients their way: “We will be arming them with lots of appointment cards,” said Dixon.
One of those counselors, Joanne Moening, a member of the Guadalupe Partners ministry and Respect Life Ministry leader at St. Kenneth Parish in Plymouth, learned about ICU Mobile from one of her fellow sidewalk counselors and informed her parish of its mission. Eager to help, the St. Kenneth commission voted to cover the ICU Mobile expenses for two weeks while it gets rolling. “We have a very generous parish in Christian service outreach,” Moening said. “Hopefully we can do more for (ICU Mobile) in the future.”
Dixon said the cost to operate the unit is about $350 daily.
Parishes can support ICU Mobile with more than just money, she added. Though off to a good start, more volunteers are needed, including drivers, sonographers to perform ultrasounds, counselors and a “pit crew” to take care of the mobile unit’s maintenance needs.
Sonographer Marion Sioma, right, and Bev Dixon fire up the ultrasound machine inside the converted RV on May 21.The Knights of Columbus chapter at St. Perpetua Parish in Waterford, with the support of pastor Fr. Jack Baker, recently held a pancake breakfast to support ICU Mobile, Dixon said, raising more than $3,000. The chapter’s grand knight, Mike Sroczynski, works for a medical supply company and plans to donate some needed items, such as disinfectant for the medical equipment. Another member with 37 years in the RV business, Bill Brown, offered to help with some of the maintenance, and Ed Roys Complete Auto in Waterford also has agreed to donate services.
“We are so grateful to these men,” said Dixon. “It is so nice to have men of integrity, and businesses in the community, coming together to support a life-affirming ministry.”
The men who have volunteered to be drivers so far all have experience as sidewalk counselors. “They are open to talking with the fathers of the babies if they come on board with the girls,” Dixon said. “Then they can talk ‘man to man.’ I love that. One of our drivers has eight years of experience as a counselor. He has seen everything and has no problem speaking the truth to these young men.”
Dixon is also grateful to another man, former BirthChoice board president Shannon Wygant, who helped start the ICU Mobile project. “We would not have gotten to this point without his passion, drive, support and the willingness to be a sounding board for me,” she said.
Storage Needed
Another major need for the ICU Mobile unit is a location for storage. The perfect scenario, Dixon said, would be in a light industrial building with easy access to the Interstate 75, preferably in Oakland County. The location would need to have a high overhead door (13 feet), and room to store the 32-foot-long unit, with easy access for the staff to get to it when necessary.
“Because of the medical equipment onboard, we need to protect the mobile unit from the elements and temperature extremes,” said Dixon. “We can’t operate in the winter if we don’t have a building for storage. We need to offer a year-round ministry. It’s imperative.”
Because ICU Mobile is nonprofit, Dixon emphasized the market “rental fee” for the space would be tax deductible.
Those interested in supporting ICU Mobile can contact Dixon at (248) 620-5353 or [email protected] For more information, visit www.icudetroit.com or www.birthchoiceresource.com.
