POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – Aetna Better Health of Missouri, a CVS Health company, announced a new collaboration with community-focused organizations to improve maternal health and women’s health outcomes in rural Missouri. Through a $720,000 commitment made by Aetna via the Global Mobile Healthcare Research Consortium (GMHRC), the initiative will bring mobile women’s care services and connection to maternal health services directly to communities in Southeast Missouri.
Access to maternity care remains a pressing challenge in rural areas. According to March of Dimes, access to care during pregnancy and around the time of birth is not consistently available across the country. In Missouri, 11.2% of babies were born to women living in rural counties, yet only 3.7% of maternity care providers practice in those areas. This disparity underscores the need for innovative, community-based solutions.
To help address these gaps, Aetna Better Health of Missouri is collaborating with the GMHRC, a nonprofit organization supported by Mission Mobile Medical, a provider of mobile health care solutions, and Missouri Highlands Health Care, a Community Health Center (CHC), to launch and operate a mobile health unit. The clinic will deliver women’s care services and connection to prenatal, postpartum, primary care and maternal mental health services to communities facing barriers to care. The clinic will be staffed by a health care provider and deliver services to all members of the community, regardless of insurance status.
“This collaboration represents an important step toward ensuring that all women, regardless of where they live, have access to high-quality maternal health services,” said Lisa Baird, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Missouri. “By bringing care directly into rural communities, we’re helping remove barriers and creating healthier futures for mothers and their babies.”
The initiative will kick off with a ribbon cutting event today at Missouri Highlands Health Care in Poplar Bluff. The event is open to community leaders and will feature tours of the clinic.
The mobile clinic will begin scheduling patients in the community on June 29, 2026 at a launch event located at Town and Country Grocery in Piedmont. The launch event will be open to the public and attendees will have the opportunity to tour the clinic and receive educational materials focused on women’s, maternal and mental health.
The mobile clinic will regularly visit 10 locations over the next year across areas served by Missouri Highlands Health Care in Southeast Missouri. Site selection will be guided by data related to maternal health care needs, access barriers and community capacity. More information is available on the Missouri Highlands Health Care website.
“At Missouri Highlands Health Care, we see firsthand the challenges rural families face in accessing timely maternal care,” said Karen R. White, CEO of Missouri Highlands Health Care. “This mobile unit allows us to meet patients where they are, expanding access to essential primary, prenatal, postpartum and behavioral health services and strengthening continuity of care across the communities we serve.”
“This initiative demonstrates the power of collaboration in addressing some of the most pressing health care challenges facing rural communities,” said Maria Victoria Ferraris, Executive Director of the Global Mobile Healthcare Research Consortium. “By combining resources, expertise and community insight, we can expand access to essential maternal care and improve outcomes for families across Missouri.”
Aetna Better Health of Missouri remains committed to collaborating with local organizations to strengthen health care access where it is needed most.
