RMHC of the Ohio Valley launching mobile care unit for women and infants
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Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley is launching a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program in Evansville this month. The medical clinic stationed at Deaconess Women’s Hospital in Newburgh provides free or reimbursed care to women of childbearing age, pregnant women, postpartum mothers and infants in underserved areas.
The care mobile’s first location for services will be outside Memorial Baptist Church at 605 Canal Street in Evansville on April 24. The medical clinic will also be set up for an event hosted by Evansville Country Club at 3810 Stringtown Rd. on June 16.
The goal of the care mobile program is to lower fetal and infant mortality rates through clinical care and programming. RMHC of the Ohio Valley is specifically focused on increasing first-trimester prenatal care, birth weights, breastfeeding and safe sleeping practices as well as improving maternal mental health.
“If we can get to these mothers earlier, they will have a better outcome of pregnancy, and their baby will be born healthier,” Chief Operating Officer Julie Burnor said. “You don’t have to come to us. We’re taking the services to you, near you, and we’re meeting you where your needs are.”
Getting the care mobile
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana ranks 7th in infant mortality rates by state with 7.16 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The Indiana Department of Health places Vanderburgh County third in stable non-Hispanic Black infant mortality rates by county with 17.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
“Seventy-five to 80% of all infant and maternal mortality is preventable. So, bottom line, that’s what the vehicle will do,” said Barb Abell, development manager.
The idea for the care mobile started in 2020 when the Talent 2025 initiative (now known as Talent EVV) began focusing on regional improvement areas such as quality of life. Burnor said Chris Ryan, CEO of The Women’s Hospital, was participating in the “Live Well” endeavor and recruited RMHC of the Ohio Valley.
“In Vanderburgh County, the infant mortality and maternal mortality, it’s horrific. Most of those things can be changed with education and more health care available. So [Ryan] came to us knowing that Ronald McDonald [House Charities] has this capacity,” Burnor said.
Bringing the care mobile to Evansville was a slow process because of supply chain issues and the number of entities involved. The project is a unique collaboration among The Women’s Hospital, Ascension St. Vincent, ECHO Community Healthcare, University of Southern Indiana, Vanderburgh County Health Department and McDonald’s.
“Normally, one healthcare facility gets it, and they just take off and run with it. We wanted it to be more of a community project,” said Burnor. “There’s not another care mobile in the RMHC system like ours.”
Available services
When women step into the RMHC Care Mobile, they may receive prenatal, postpartum and infant care plus assistance with other issues.
“The nurse is a lactation specialist and also trained in early ultrasound. The social worker will guide them on what else they need. We did a survey to see what kind of needs were out there. We have a large amount of food insecurities, mental health issues, bill paying, transportation, those kind of things,” Burnor said.
Abell said women will be able to go in a room with staff for privacy. Infants may receive care for up to one year, and then the mother will be referred to the health department’s Pre to 3 program which offers family support.
“We’ll also be doing safe baby sleep stuff. We’ll refer them out to get a pack-and-play. We’ll get them all set up and give them all that knowledge as well to prevent SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome], people falling asleep with the baby, things like that, and educate them on the bus,” said Burnor.
In the future, the care mobile may also carry a physician or nurse practitioner to provide additional services.
“Our overall goal is to be able to help these women and have some sort of doctor on there or have someone who can prescribe drugs. We have the health department coming and helping if anybody needs immunizations. If there are sexually transmitted diseases involved, they have all of those resources,” Abell said.
‘We want to build that trust’
The RMHC Care Mobile’s debut on April 24 is in the 47713 zip code, one of the most concentrated need areas in the Evansville Promise Neighborhood. The medical clinic will also target the 47710, 47711 and 47714 regions.
“So the care for the mom and the child is close at hand in a place where they feel safe going,” said Abell. “Ultimately, we want to build that trust so they can connect with a land-based doctor and move forward.”
The organization will announce the care mobile’s dates and locations on Facebook and other mediums.
“Once the mobile starts running, we’ll have a lot more commercials directed to the website so they know where it’s going to be,” Burnor said.
The program is being funded by many sources, including Ronald McDonald Global Corporation, Evansville Promise Neighborhood, state funding grants and a capital campaign. Abell said ongoing support for the care mobile is essential.
“We don’t want the program to end. The lifespan of the mobile is, I’ll say, 10 years at least, maybe a little bit longer. So we already need to be making plans to be able to replace that mobile because we are sure that this program is going to be life-changing for our area,” said Abell.
Appointments for tours are available by calling (812) 402-7642 ext. 301 or emailing Julie Burnor.