“Serving new communities in a new way”
On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, UF Health leaders gathered to celebrate a momentous milestone: the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new OBGYN Mobile Outreach Clinic (MOC) unit at the UF Health Urgent Care Center – Eastside. With a mission rooted in compassion and access, the new mobile unit aims to deliver vital women’s health services directly to rural and underserved communities in North Central Florida.
Healthcare access remains a significant challenge for many in rural areas, where transportation, finances, and distance often stand between patients and the care they need. The new mobile maternal health clinic is an innovative response to these barriers—providing essential services like prenatal care and postpartum care, family planning, and gynecological screenings directly in the communities that need them most.
“This model is more than a clinic on wheels,” said keynote speaker, Jennifer Hunt, M.D., M.Ed., UF College of Medicine interim dean. “It’s a promise to meet people where they are.” Drawing from personal experience, she reflected on her time serving patients in rural Pennsylvania. “I’ve delivered babies for mothers who had almost no prenatal care. One mother even arrived at our clinic in a horse-drawn buggy. It took her and her husband over an hour to travel just ten miles. That baby was born on a transfer gurney.”
The launch of the OBGYN Mobile Outreach unit, a collaboration between the UF Mobile Outreach Clinic and the UF College of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is the result of years of planning, passion, and perseverance from Michelle Nall, M.P.H, ANP-BC, the assistant medical director of the UF Mobile Outreach Clinic and Adetola Louis-Jacques, M.D, the OB/GYN Outreach clinic’s medical director and assistant professor in the UF College of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Evelyn Martinez, clinical supervisor of the Mobile Outreach Clinic, spoke with pride about seeing the project come to life. “It is great to serve new communities in a different capacity from our primary care unit,” Martinez said. “It’s excellent to see this dream come to fruition after so many years, to be able to serve new communities in a new way.”
The project has been deeply personal and rewarding for Julia Rangler, a member of the clinic’s outreach team. “It’s amazing to look back at where we started—when the bus was just sketches and ideas,” she shared. “Now, when I call the women we serve and ask, ‘How can we help you?’ I know we have real tools to meet their needs. I’m full of joy about it.”
Sherlonda McNeil, community health worker and health educator for the OB/GYN Mobile Outreach unit, echoed that sentiment. “It’s phenomenal being part of this team and knowing we are reaching a community that otherwise might not have access to prenatal care,” he said. “I’m excited to see the bus rolling out and making a difference.”
Behind the scenes, team members like Anna Silberman have played a crucial role in readying the mobile unit. “Helping coordinate the inventory and supplies for the new bus has been such a great experience,” she said. “Working alongside such dedicated people and clinicians has been incredibly rewarding.”
With the ribbon now cut and the wheels ready to turn, the OB/GYN Mobile Outreach stands as a powerful symbol of healthcare innovation and equity—rolling forward to serve, uplift, and empower.
To learn more, please click here: UF Health celebrates new OB/GYN Mobile Outreach vehicle with ribbon-cutting ceremony – UF Health