With a $2.8 million grant partnership between the North Carolina Community Health Center Association, Nurture NC and the Leon Levine Foundation, two North Carolina health centers are expanding perinatal services for families in underserved rural areas.
Mobile unit to serve Graham County
Blue Ridge Health, based in Hendersonville, plans to retrofit a mobile clinic equipped with an exam room and Doppler ultrasound machine for Graham County, where no obstetric clinicians or birthing centers exist. CEO Tammy Greenwell explained that without nearby care, some pregnant women receive no prenatal visits and arrive at delivery without any medical supervision. The mobile unit will operate in partnership with the local health department, aiming to begin patient visits in early 2027.
Blue Ridge already runs a network of community health centers across nine western counties and operates a family‑medicine residency program that places doctors trained in obstetric care at its clinics. The grant from the NCCHCA will fund the mobile unit’s equipment and support the shared‑care model that provides prenatal support, family‑planning services and ultrasounds.
Residency program expansion in Pender County
At the opposite end of the state, Black River Health in Burgaw, Pender County, is expanding its family‑medicine residency program to increase perinatal care for rural residents, especially those without insurance. Dr. Bailey Minish, director of the residency, noted that prenatal options are scarce in western Pender County, leaving the health department and Black River as the primary providers.
Since January, the clinic has delivered prenatal care to 17 patients and facilitated four births at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. With two additional resident physicians joining next year, the program expects to serve more families. A separate grant will fund ultrasound training for residents, while another grant will purchase an ultrasound machine, reducing the need to refer patients to Novant Health in Rocky Point.
Why hospitals are closing labor‑and‑delivery units
North Carolina has seen at least ten hospital labor‑and‑delivery units close since 2015, according to Harold Miller of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Declining birth rates and the high cost of maternity care make these units financially unsustainable, especially in rural areas where they often lose money and rely on subsidies from more profitable procedures. Insurance reimbursements have not kept pace with rising costs, prompting many smaller hospitals to eliminate maternity services.
While a few facilities, such as UNC Health Chatham in Siler City, have reopened their units after previous closures, such reversals are rare. Miller emphasized that once a maternity service is lost, rebuilding it is extremely difficult.
Impact on families
For expectant mothers in Graham and Pender counties, the new mobile clinic and expanded residency program represent a lifeline. By bringing prenatal and postpartum care closer to home, these initiatives aim to reduce travel burdens, improve health outcomes for mothers and babies, and strengthen the fabric of rural communities.
Both Blue Ridge Health and Black River Health credit the grant partnership for making these projects possible and see them as a model for other underserved regions across the state.
Original reporting: Carolina Public Press — read the source article.
