GANADO, Navajo Nation (AZFamily) – This week the March of Dimes unveiled a new Mom and Baby Mobile Health Clinic that will travel throughout the Navajo Nation, delivering essential prenatal and infant care to mothers in remote communities.
Bringing Care to the Doorstep
The mobile clinic, a partnership with Sage Memorial Hospital and Mercy Care, is designed to spare expectant and new mothers the hardship of driving an hour or more on rural roads to reach a medical appointment. The Navajo Nation spans more than 27,000 square miles, and many families must travel to Flagstaff or Gallup for basic obstetric services.
Maternal mortality rates for Indigenous mothers are twice those of white mothers, according to CDC data, underscoring the urgent need for accessible care.
Local Voices Highlight Need
Elayne Nez, who discovered she was pregnant in January 2025, lives less than ten minutes from Sage Memorial Hospital, yet she still encounters obstacles. “Sometimes you don’t qualify for health insurance out here, and then you don’t have the transportation to come out here,” Nez explained.
Even with proximity to the hospital, Nez described the challenging road conditions: “It’s nothing but dirt road, and coming to the main road it’s just muddy. At times I would come to Dr. Nelson’s office with mud shoes. I told him I wish you could just meet me in a mobile vehicle somewhere close, and we laughed about it.”
Medical Team’s Vision
Dr. Matthew Nelson, medical director of women and infant services at Sage Memorial Hospital, helped create the mobile unit. “When a provider asks a patient to return every two weeks, that can be a significant pressure for them,” he said. “By meeting them where they are, we take that burden off of them.”
The clinic’s staff will provide comprehensive women’s health services, including STI testing, cancer screening, lactation support, and newborn monitoring. “We’re about to provide lactation support. We’re able to listen to babies and put the pregnant moms on the monitor,” Dr. Nelson added.
Community Impact
Nez’s son was born in October of last year, and she expressed excitement about the mobile clinic’s potential to reach families across the reservation. “What it means for me is I get to see this on the reservation, them tracking, and I get to say, ‘Hey, look at that vehicle, they made that possible.’ I love it,” she said.
The March of Dimes has operated other mobile clinics, but this marks its first partnership with a tribal nation. A ribbon‑cutting ceremony was held Tuesday morning at Sage Memorial Hospital to celebrate the launch.
Looking Ahead
By delivering care directly to homes, the mobile clinic aims to reduce travel barriers, improve prenatal health outcomes, and ultimately lower the stark maternal mortality disparity affecting Indigenous women. The program will continue to travel to remote communities, offering a lifeline of medical support to mothers who have long been underserved.
Original reporting: azfamily KTVK/KPHO Phoenix (news) — read the source article.
