Aetna Better Health of Missouri, Missouri Highlands Health Care, and the Global Mobile Healthcare Research Consortium have launched Care Connect, a mobile clinic bringing prenatal, postpartum, primary care, and maternal mental health services to rural Southeast Missouri. Mission Mobile Medical built and operates the unit.
The clinic began scheduling patients on June 29, 2026, at a launch event at Town and Country Grocery in Piedmont. Visitors could tour the unit and take home materials on women’s, maternal, and mental health.
Care Connect is a $720,000 commitment from Aetna Better Health of Missouri and the Global Mobile Healthcare Research Consortium, a nonprofit supported by Mission Mobile Medical and Missouri Highlands Health Care. Over its first year the clinic is expected to make regular stops at 10 locations across the counties Missouri Highlands serves, and it sees community members regardless of insurance status.
The unit has two private exam rooms, equipped for prenatal, postpartum, and primary care visits.
In Missouri, 11.2% of babies are born to women living in rural counties, while only 3.7% of the state’s maternity care providers practice in those counties. That gap is what the program is built to close.
“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.”
Aetna Better Health of Missouri and CVS Health announced the collaboration on June 9, 2026. Coverage is available from KFVS12, Aetna Better Health of Missouri, and CVS Health.
