The medical clinic Island Health Care in Edgartown added more space last week in the form of a refurbished RV. Island Health Care CEO Cynthia Mitchell said the so-called mobile health clinic will help Island Health Care see more patients while they consider other possibilities for expansion.

“We continue to see high demand for care,” she said. “We’ll take any extra space we can get.”

The 34-foot mobile health clinic is a gift from Duffy Health Center in Hyannis. It is equipped with an exam room, a nurses’ station, a small consult space, and a waiting area, according to a letter to the editor from Ms. Mitchell in this week’s paper.

Island Health Care is a federally qualified community health center that uses a team-based nurse practitioner model. Ms. Mitchell estimated that the center serves 4,000 patients annually, and that about half of them are low income, uninsured, or belong to the health safety net program.

The clinic had already expanded hours to accommodate as many patients as possible, including staying open all day on Saturdays.

Duffy Health Center acquired the mobile health clinic 10 years ago to expand healthcare access to homeless populations on the Cape, but with the establishment of additional clinics on the Cape, the center’s leaders say its services are no longer needed.

“The Mobile Health Clinic served us well for 10 years,” Duffy Health Center CEO Heidi Nelson said in a press release. “We will continue to serve patients from all across Barnstable County; however the service is no longer in alignment with our long term strategic plan.“

The mobile unit will stay parked alongside the Island Health Care clinic and be used for regular visits. Ms. Mitchell said she has encouraged staff to consider alternative transportation to compensate for the four parking spaces the unit takes up in the busy Edgartown triangle.

Ms. Mitchell said Island Health Care hopes to expand into the Stop & Shop pharmacy space adjacent to the clinic in coming years.