March of Dimes Launches Mobile Clinic on Navajo Nation
The Mom and Baby Mobile Health Clinic brings prenatal and general care directly to mothers' homes across the Navajo Nation.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Pregnancy
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March of Dimes opened a Mom and Baby Mobile Health Clinic that travels across the Navajo Nation to meet mothers at their homes. The clinic was created in partnership with Sage Memorial Hospital and Mercy Care, and a ribbon-cutting was held Tuesday morning at Sage Memorial Hospital.
Why it matters
Maternal mortality rates are twice as high for Indigenous mothers compared to white mothers, and many Arizona mothers drive hours to Flagstaff or Gallup for care. The clinic is intended to spare mothers that long drive through rural parts of the state.
The Navajo Nation stretches across more than 27,000 miles, and Indigenous mothers face maternal mortality rates twice as high as white mothers. The extraction does not report the number of patients the clinic will serve or any outcome measures.
The players
March of Dimes
March of Dimes is a national nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health that created the mobile clinic with a tribal nation for the first time.
Sage Memorial Hospital
Sage Memorial Hospital is a hospital in the Navajo Nation area that partnered on the clinic and hosted its ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Mercy Care
Mercy Care is a health care organization based in Arizona that operates the clinic in partnership with Sage Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Matthew Nelson
Dr. Matthew Nelson is the medical director of women and infant services at Sage Memorial Hospital who helped create the mobile clinic.
The details
The clinic travels to mothers' homes across the Navajo Nation and offers women's general health care, including STI testing, cancer screening, lactation support and fetal monitoring. It is designed so patients do not have to return to appointments every two weeks, and it is the first time March of Dimes has partnered with a tribal nation on a mobile clinic.
Timeline
January 2025: Elayne Nez found out she was pregnant.
October 2025: Nez's son was born.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026: A ribbon-cutting was held at Sage Memorial Hospital.
Week of November 13, 2026: The mobile clinic opened to travel across the Navajo Nation.
Patient Care
Rather than requiring mothers to drive an hour or more to Flagstaff or Gallup, the clinic applies the mobile-clinic approach to the Navajo Nation's roughly 27,000 square miles. It is the first March of Dimes partnership of this kind with a tribal nation.
Mothers on the Navajo Nation can receive prenatal, STI and cancer screening care at home rather than traveling hours to Flagstaff or Gallup. The clinic's visits are designed so patients need not return to appointments every two weeks.
The takeaway
Access to care is often a matter of distance, and bringing services to patients can remove barriers that keep mothers from getting timely prenatal and postpartum support.
Further reading
Explore more Pregnancy coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by AZfamily.
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