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Photo/Osceola County
Osceola Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington is supporting a health care clinic on wheels that brings preventative care to women who would otherwise have little access to this precious service.
“The Midwife Bus” recently began making a weekly stop in Poinciana, after clients from the community were traveling to its home base in St. Cloud.
“I was impressed with the mission to provide empowering, educational and relationship-based prenatal care to low income women in Osceola County,” said Arrington, who awarded the non-profit a $6,000 Community Betterment Grant. “This is an innovative solution to provide health care for those who have limited access to needed preventative care.”
Community Betterment Grants are competitive awards that allow for investment in the unique and diverse needs of the County. They are awarded on a district basis to serve each area appropriately. The grants allow local groups to seek funds from Osceola County Commissioners for a variety of programs or events.
Using a retired blood bank bus that has been renovated into an ultramodern midwifery clinic on wheels, “The Midwife Bus” drives to neighborhoods that have been identified through the Community Health Needs Assessment as having a high number of pregnant women getting inadequate or no prenatal care. Staff sees women who are uninsured, under-insured or insured through Medicaid and provide them with complete care as a “one stop shop” -- including lab work, office visits, ultrasounds, referrals and more.
“We are directly addressing needs outlined in the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment Report, which reported a significant need for easy access prenatal clinics staffed by relationship-based providers in Osceola County,” said founder Brooke Schmoe, who has partnered with several community initiatives (Healthy Start Osceola and Beyond Pregnancy Center) to make the dream a reality. “I’m proud that we can provide quality, well-rounded, holistic women’s health care to the most vulnerable women in my hometown of Osceola County, and I appreciate Commissioner Arrington’s support of what we are doing and connecting us with other community partners to increase our presence.”
Services also include post-partum and well-woman gynecology such as yearly physical exams, contraception, hormone balancing, symptomatic menopause, pelvic floor issues, urinary symptoms, pelvic pain and mental health.
In addition to its service in Poinciana at the Mary Jane Arrington Gym and Community Center (Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the bus also stops in St. Cloud and Kissimmee on a regular basis.
About the founder:
Brooke Schmoe grew up amongst the medical journals and birth stories of her OBGYN father, which sparked an interest in women’s health from an early age and birthing her first daughter under the care of a midwife inspired her to pursue midwifery as a profession. After her 2015 graduation from The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in Gainesville, she began dreaming about The Midwife Bus concept. Working at a high-volume practice and seeing disparities in education, pregnancy health, emotional health, birth outcomes and quality of life between the wealthy and indigent families was the inspiration for the non-profit. She founded The Midwife Bus in 2018.
To learn more, visit www.themidwifebus.org or call 407-768-3372.
