A partnership between OSF HealthCare and Meridian Health Plan of Illinois is bringing a mobile service unit to Peoria-area expectant and recent mothers in need of maternity care.
The mobile clinic vehicle was christened Tuesday afternoon as OSF OnCall launches the new pregnancy and postpartum unit with a goal of increasing access to obstetric treatment.
“Our mobile OB clinic will be providing prenatal care for women on the vehicle who may otherwise not be able to make it to their prenatal appointments,” said Brandi Clark, OSF’s vice president of digital care. “We will have a provider on the vehicle, as well as a medical assistant to support them, and we’ll also have a sonogram machine on the vehicle as well.”
The funding for the mobile unit for the first three years is provided through a $1.5 million grant from Meridian and the Centene Foundation to OSF.
“As one of the Medicaid-managed care plans in Illinois, maternal and child health is an important part of what we do. we are very aware that there remain disparities and outcomes for maternal morbidity across the state,” said Meridian president and CEO Cristal Gary.
“So when the opportunity came to partner with OSF with this mobile OB clinic, we really thought that it was a win-win for us and for OSF, and more importantly for the communities that we both jointly serve – to be able to bring those post those prenatal and postpartum services to women where they are, to help break down some of those barriers to access to care and ultimately to improve birth outcomes.”
Beyond Peoria County, the mobile maternity care van will be able to serve communities in Woodford, Marshall, Knox, Henry, Putnam, Bureau and LaSalle counties.
Gary notes that 34% of Illinois counties are considered “maternal health deserts,” where pregnant women often have to travel 40-60 miles to reach the closest birthing hospital.
“Many of those counties are in Central Illinois, so having access to this mobile unit and being able to actually meet people in communities across Central Illinois where they are is really critical,” she said.
“And it’s not just a problem for when it comes time to deliver a baby; it’s a barrier to accessing critical prenatal care that’s necessary to ensure healthy, positive birth outcomes, as well as access to that postpartum care – and a lot of those negative birth outcomes that occur actually occur postpartum.”
Kate Johnson, the women’s services manager for OSF digital care, said the OnCall pregnancy and postpartum program already offers personalized pregnancy support at no cost for those in need.
“Now with the launch of this clinic, we’re taking that support a step further. For patients enrolled in the OnCall Connect program who need help accessing in person care, we’ll bring this clinic to them,” said Johnson. “We’ll meet them in their own community, with scheduled appointments that offer sonograms, lab draws, vaccines, blood pressure checks and more. All of this is coordinated through our team and comes at no cost for Medicaid patients.”
Clark noted that changes in the availability of care for pregnant women over the last several years has elevated the need for a mobile clinic such as this.
“Lots of hospitals have had to close their delivery services and access to prenatal care is a real challenge for a lot of women,” said Clark. “So we’re finding ways that we can provide virtual and digital care to close the gap, and then bringing this mobile vehicle out to further expand access and provide an avenue for women to get that prenatal care that they so desperately need.”
