Mobile clinics offer a practical way to improve health care access in maternity care deserts

Only three of the 14 counties in north-central Florida provide full access to obstetric care. Six have low access to care – meaning there are fewer than two hospitals offering obstetric care or birth centers per 10,000 births and fewer than 60 obstetric providers. The remaining five counties are maternity care deserts. Approximately 3,400 women of childbearing age live in those deserts. In 2024, a report found that hospitals across Florida were...