Part of the stated mission of the Santa Fe County Mobile Health Van is to help county residents find a "medical home."

Angela Thorndyke, the registered nurse who has staffed the van since 2005, said that means referring people to a place where they can get regular care. But often she ends up being the most consistent medical presence in her patients' lives.

"I've been seeing some people longer than their doctor has," she said. "A lot of people are resistant to going to the doctor. This is a beginning, a way to get them started. We get them comfortable. We just talk. I take their blood pressure. I check their oxygen level, answer questions."

The van -- which parks in a different place throughout the county from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. most weekdays -- offers free blood pressure and blood sugar screenings and hands out the county's prescription drug discount card and referrals to other medical providers. In the fall, it provides free flu shots for adults.

Thorndyke can't diagnose or treat, only assess, but if she notices something about a patient that indicates they need to be treated right away, she will call paramedics to come get them or refer them to the emergency room. She said she refers four or five patients from the van to the emergency room every couple of weeks.

Once, Thorndyke said, she noticed a mole on the arm of a patient whose blood pressure she was testing, which later turned out to be cancer.

As in much of the country, Thorndyke said, the most common conditions she sees in Santa Fe county residents -- diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure -- are linked to sedentary lifestyles. "We're just not active enough," she said. "We sit a lot."

The van cost the county about $166,661 last year and provided a total of more than 3,000 blood pressure and/or blood glucose tests and 459 flu vaccines to 2,248 patients.

Some days are slow, Thorndyke said, but other days she'll see as many as 30 or 40 patients in a four-hour period.

Tilly Flood, 75, of La Cieneguilla, who visited the van while it was parked at the Community Center in La Cienega on Wednesday, said she uses the van because "it's convenient and it's free and they are nice people."

This month, the van is offering free total cholesterol screenings. Those who are interested in having their cholesterol checked should visit the van in the morning before they have eaten or be "fasting."

The van will be at the Cundiyo Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, at the Bethel Community Storehouse in Moriarty from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, and at the Casa Rufina Senior Apartments from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. No appointment is needed.

The van schedule can be found under "Services" on Santa Fe County's website at www.santafecounty.org.

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.