The Doctors' Caravan: The Traveling Hospital That Tours Romania's Villages

Mihai Ranete hadn't started his journey thinking of creating a large volunteer organization. As a medical student in Bucharest, he was focused primarily on exams and theoretical training. The turning point came when he participated in a volunteer initiative in an isolated community in the Danube Delta. It was supposed to be a short experience, almost a way to escape the university routine, but meeting those people made him realize how distant medicine was from Romania's poorest villages. 

There he met patients who had often never had a medical checkup, not because they didn't want treatment, but because reaching a hospital or specialist could require hours of travel, money, and difficult organization. Ranete said that experience made him realize that the heart of the medical profession wasn't just knowing about diseases, but stay close to patients. 

From this belief was born, with four colleagues, the Caravan with DoctorsInstead of waiting for patients to arrive at the hospitals, they decided to bring doctors into the villages. The first outings were simple and also difficult: the group had to learn how to organize travel, find suitable spaces, coordinate volunteers, and build trust with local communities. 

Over time, the project has grown. The Caravan has become a national network with branches in several Romanian cities and hundreds of volunteers, including doctors, residents, and students. Missions include visits, tests, ultrasounds, specialist consultations, and health education in rural areas with less access to healthcare. 

Today the Caravan of Doctors  It is a mobile healthcare project that provides free medical visits and services, especially in rural or disadvantaged areas, where many people have difficulty accessing clinics and hospitals.

In practice it works like this:

1. Choice of villages or communities
   • The association or organizers identify locations with poor access to health services, often small rural towns.
   • They usually work with local authorities, schools, parishes or community organisations to inform residents. 
2. A temporary medical team arrives
   • A team of medical specialists, resident doctors, medical students, and volunteers travels to the site with medical equipment.
   • Activities may include consultations, basic check-ups, screenings, tests, and health education activities. 
3. Free visits
   • Patients are welcomed in spaces specially equipped for the occasion (for example, authorized local buildings, healthcare facilities, specially designated spaces or mobile units).
   • In Romania, "medical caravans" are regulated by the Ministry of Health: they must comply with organizational and health requirements, with notifications to health authorities and, in some cases, temporary operating permits. 
4. Prevention beyond cure
   • The goal is not only to treat existing problems, but also to promote prevention: measurements, regular check-ups, early detection of diseases, and information on lifestyle and health. 
5. Who can benefit from it
   • This applies especially to elderly people, children, families with financial difficulties, the uninsured, or residents of remote areas. Romanian law provides that these mobile services can also be provided to people without health insurance or a family doctor.

In 2025, the association launched a campaign focused on the early diagnosis of diabetes in rural communities, with the stated goal of reaching approximately 11.000 Guests through free analyses and consultations.

In 2026, the entire community care network in the villages was digitalized. In March 2026, volunteer doctors in the villages of Timiș County provided free consultations and screenings for diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases in Tomești and Voiteg.

Cover image source: Caravan with Doctors/Facebook

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