UnitedHealthcare to Support Northeast Missouri Health Council Efforts to Sustain and Expand Rural Maternal Healthcare

Investment will help strengthen OB-GYN coverage, recruit maternal health providers and advance a rural family medicine with obstetrics workforce pipeline

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare today announced a $540,000 investment to support Northeast Missouri Health Council (NMHC), a federally qualified health center, to help sustain and expand access to critical obstetrics and gynecology services (OB-GYN) for patients in rural communities.

The support will help NMHC stabilize its current OB-GYN workforce, recruit additional maternal health providers, support development of an OB-GYN residency pathway and lay the groundwork for a rural family medicine with obstetrics fellowship program designed to strengthen the long-term maternal health workforce in Missouri.

NMHC currently delivers more than 525 babies annually in Kirksville with two full-time OB-GYN physicians. UnitedHealthcare’s support will help NMHC maintain access to current maternal health services while developing a sustainable rural workforce pipeline. The effort will benefit patients across 22 Northeast Missouri counties who rely on comprehensive OB-GYN and delivery care in Kirksville as rural communities nationwide face obstetric workforce shortages.

"Our mission is to be partners for a lifetime of health, and for many families in northeast Missouri, that begins at childbirth," said Andy Grimm, CEO, the Northeast Missouri Health Council. "We are grateful to UnitedHealthcare for investing in rural maternal health at a moment when many communities are losing the service. This kind of collaboration is what makes it possible for a health center like ours to plan for the long term."

Founded in 1968, NMHC serves more than 20,000 patients annually through 11 clinics and two mobile units, providing primary care, pediatrics, OB-GYN, internal medicine, behavioral health and dental care regardless of income or insurance status.

“UnitedHealthcare is committed to supporting access to high-quality care in the communities we serve, including rural communities where workforce challenges can limit access to essential services,” said Jamie Bruce, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Missouri. “By supporting Northeast Missouri Health Council, we are helping protect access to maternal healthcare close to home while strengthening the pipeline of clinicians who can serve families across Missouri for years to come.”

This work reflects UnitedHealthcare’s broader commitment to investing in communities to help healthcare work better for families across the state, including a recent $250,000 investment to Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium to advance maternal health outcomes and strengthen relationships between families and provider care teams across Missouri’s Bootheel region. Earlier this year, the company also announced the expansion of doula support coverage for eligible members.

UnitedHealthcare serves 2 million members enrolled in Medicaid, employer-sponsored, individual and Medicare plans in Missouri, with a network of 129 hospitals and over 44,000 physicians and other care providers statewide. For more information on how UnitedHealthcare is working to build healthier communities, visit uhccs.com.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the healthcare experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with physicians, care professionals, hospitals and other care facilities. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified healthcare company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow UnitedHealthcare on LinkedIn.