OhioHealth Launches Mobile Healthcare Program in Southeastern Ohio
On Wednesday, May 14, OhioHealth officially launched its Wellness on Wheels Southeast Ohio program with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital.
The celebration recognized the regional expansion of OhioHealth’s national model for mobile healthcare, made possible through the support of Ohio’s Medicaid Health Plans – AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Buckeye Health Plan, CareSource, Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio, Molina HealthCare of Ohio and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.
The event brought together community leaders, elected officials, donors and healthcare professionals to mark a major milestone in improving access to healthcare for underserved populations in southeastern Ohio.
The Wellness on Wheels (WOW) unit soft launched in Vinton County last summer at the Vinton County Health Department in McArthur. Now expanding to Athens, Meigs, Noble, Perry and Vinton Counties, the program will help address critical health disparities in southeastern Ohio — connecting patients to primary care, prenatal care and women’s health services and social resources through community partnerships.
“At OhioHealth, we understand the vital need to have convenient and reliable access to care,” said Karen Morrison, president of the OhioHealth Foundation and senior vice president for OhioHealth. “In many rural areas there are barriers to care where transportation may be limited for patients or there is a lack of maternal care resources. OhioHealth Wellness on Wheels is a national model for mobile healthcare and for more than 30 years has been providing prenatal, women’s health and primary care to central Ohio. With a significant investment by Buckeye Health and Ohio’s Medicaid Health Plans we can now bring these services to southeast Ohio and advance OhioHealth’s vision to provide exceptional care for all.”
“Ohio’s Medicaid Health Plans are proud to partner with OhioHealth to bring Wellness on Wheels to the region,” said Kelly O’Reilly, president and CEO of the Ohio Association of Health Plans. “Like OhioHealth, we are committed to improving health and wellness outcomes for all Ohioans. By helping to address infant mortality rates, offering preventative screenings, and educating patients on how to better manage chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, together we can create communities in southeast Ohio that can thrive in good health.”
The dedication included remarks from OhioHealth leaders, funding partners and patients.
Wellness on Wheels patient Lauren Tigner shared her story during the ceremony, recalling the moment she discovered she was pregnant at 28—uninsured and unsure where to turn.
“I had never planned to have kids,” Tigner said. “Then I found out I was pregnant. I was terrified.”
Tigner runs two businesses on her own and didn’t have health insurance. She had been repeatedly denied coverage and, by the time she was five months pregnant, still hadn’t seen a doctor.
“I’m five months pregnant, scared to death, and I happen to see Tammi’s post on Facebook,” she said, referring to Tammi Mattey, clinical nurse manager of the Southeast Ohio WOW program and a post Tammi had shared from a local health department’s Facebook page. “It seemed too good to be true—no insurance needed, and they cover everything.”
Despite her doubts, she decided to make an appointment. What she didn’t know at the time was that she would be the WOW unit’s very first maternal health patient.
Tigner said the care she received changed everything for her.
“I can’t emphasize enough how safe they made me feel—like I was a friend or family,” she said. “I would recommend anybody in my family go see them.”
Thanks to the team’s holistic care, Tigner’s pregnancy was healthy and uneventful. She received prenatal vitamins, help applying for insurance, and follow-up calls after giving birth. Today, both she and her baby are doing well.
“Now we have a healthy little baby, a healthy mommy, and we’re moving into our first apartment. We’re making a little family.”
She closed her remarks simply: “Thank you for everything.”
After the ceremony, guests toured the WOW unit, a “doctor’s office on wheels,” that features a small waiting area, space for storing medical and laboratory testing supplies and two exam rooms with equipment for performing ultrasounds, lab work, EKGs and other simple procedures.
“Many women who receive prenatal care through Wellness on Wheels will deliver here at O’Bleness or at OhioHealth Southeastern Medical Center in Cambridge,” said LeeAnn Lucas-Helber, president of O’Bleness Hospital. “Wellness on Wheels will extend vital services beyond our hospitals while still providing the highest-level of care close to home. That continuum of care means more healthy babies, more healthy moms and more healthy families.”
For more information, visit ohiohealth.com/WellnessonWheels or in southeast Ohio call (740) 331-7373.
Video and interviews approved for media use are available for download here:
- Video: https://vimeo.com/1084392283?share=copy
- Sound bites: https://vimeo.com/1084396599?share=copy
