Hyundai-Backed Mobility Lab Provides Vehicles for USC Medical Group

MoceanLab, an L.A.-based mobility laboratory developed by Hyundai Motor Group, is launching a program to help the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine’s Street Medicine Team care for L.A.’s unsheltered homeless population.

MoceanLab is providing low-emission hybrid vehicles from its Mocean Carshare service to be used by the Street Medicine Team as they travel to serve homeless residents where they reside: in homeless encampments, under freeway overpasses, and in other areas.

The effort is part of the company’s commitment to create innovative mobility solutions that benefit residents, neighborhoods and communities throughout Los Angeles, including those most in need.

“All of us at MoceanLab are inspired by the selfless, heroic work of USC’s Street Medicine Team in caring for a population that faces unique challenges and is too often left behind,” MoceanLab Vice President Dave Gallon said in a statement. “Through collaborations with top-quality institutions like USC and others, we can deliver on our mission of improving the quality of life for Angelenos of all backgrounds.”

Embracing a philosophy of “radical humility,” the USC Keck School’s Street Medicine Team provides a full spectrum of services to homeless Angelenos, all at no cost. They include treatment for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, dispensing medications, obtaining blood work, delivering drug and alcohol counseling and basic mental health services, and providing basic survival supplies.

USC’s team also informs the academic work of researchers seeking to better understand the challenges facing the unsheltered homeless population, develop more effective care, and help address the root causes of homelessness.

“L.A.’s large unhoused population faces a disproportionate burden of chronic and acute health challenges, particularly during the coronavirus outbreak, but often have few options for high-quality and compassionate care,” Brett Feldman, USC’s director of street medicine and vice chair of the Street Medicine Institute. “Our motto on the Street Medicine Team is, ‘Go to the people.’ Our collaboration with Mocean Carshare will help us improve the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of these vulnerable men and women directly in the environments where they are most comfortable.”

MoceanLab was launched uniquely for Los Angeles to develop equitable, environmentally sustainable new ways to move around safely, and efficiently. MoceanLab embraces a wide range of partners and collaborators to create forward-leaning mobility solutions.

MoceanLab’s first initiative, Mocean Carshare is a car sharing service launched earlier this year that allows drivers to quickly and easily rent a low-emission hybrid electric car and return it anywhere in Downtown L.A.

“Addressing the challenge of chronic homelessness is an urgent priority in communities throughout Los Angeles, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic slowdown place new burdens on families and individuals,” Aaron Gross, L.A.’s Chief Resilience Officer, said in a statement. “This collaboration with MoceanLab will expand the transformative power of USC’s Street Medicine Team and have a profound impact on residents in need who deserve this excellent, humane medical care.”