A special bus that specializes in providing prenatal and postpartum care to uninsured and under-insured women will be rolling into Orange County care of a grant from the Orlando Health Community Grant Program.
The Midwife Bus (Website) launched in 2018 when licensed midwife Brook Schmoe converted a retired bloodmobile into a mobile maternity clinic. The aforementioned grant helped to convert the bus for her needs and she has mostly focused on patients in Osceola County ever since – because they have the highest percentage of women without health insurance in Central Florida.
“So many important milestones for the mother and the baby are measured in the months before the due date,” said Schmoe, L.M., C.P.M. “Limited-to-zero healthcare access during pregnancy means that potentially dangerous conditions, like pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, are less likely to be caught and managed. This can spell disaster for both mother and baby.”
The bus will be parked at the Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center at 800 Grand Street [GMap] in Holden Heights every Monday and patients can schedule an appointment by calling 321-354-6844 or visiting themidwifebus.org.
