Serving the Underserved Through Nurse-Led Mobile Primary Care.

OBJECTIVES

To develop and implement a nurse-led mobile health clinic affiliated with an academic college of nursing to improve access to care in underserved communities and support workforce development through experiential nursing and interprofessional education.

DESIGN

A descriptive, community-based quality improvement initiative detailing the operationalization of a nurse-led mobile health unit (MHU) serving underserved communities.

SAMPLE: The first 200 patients served by the MHU across five high-need community locations were identified using census data and the social vulnerability index.

MEASUREMENTS: Patient demographic data, visit type, and satisfaction were collected. Additional process measures included clinic staffing, services delivered, and student involvement.

INTERVENTION: The Mo-Bull Nurse Medical Clinic delivered free primary care services while serving as a training site for undergraduate and graduate nursing students and interprofessional learners.

RESULTS

Among 200 patients, 175 were adults (mean age 48), and 25 were children (mean age 9.2). Adults were 43.5% female, 51.5% White, 20.5% Hispanic, and 18% Black. Most children sought school/sports physicals (88%). Common adult visits included well-care (16%), hypertension (13.1%), and alcohol abuse remission (9.7%). Over 99% reported high satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurse-led mobile clinics are a scalable, equity-driven model that expands access to care and supports hands-on workforce development in underserved communities.