April 2026

'The only provider:' Governor's Wellmobile Showcases Community Impact

April 7, 2026   |   Emily Bleiweis

Maryland legislators briskly strode through Lawyer’s Mall in Annapolis and into the State House on a Thursday morning in late March, with just a few sessions left before Crossover Day where bills must pass from one chamber to the other for their best chance at approval. 

The buzz of urgency was palpable — but it didn’t prevent legislators from stopping at the Governor’s Wellmobile, operated by the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON). The Wellmobile was at the state capitol providing free blood pressure and glucose screenings to highlight to the Maryland delegation just a small sample of the free services it offers to Marylanders who need it most. 

Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk, speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates and member of the Governor's Wellmobile Program Advisory Board, was one of those legislators.  

“I have been on the Governor's Wellmobile board for many years, and I love it. I love their mission — I love the work they do,” Peña-Melnyk said. “They go into communities that are really poor, that have no health insurance, and oftentimes, the Wellmobile is the only provider.” 

The Wellmobile, a mobile clinic that in fiscal year 2025, served approximately 1,600 patients, operates four days a week in Prince George’s County and has provided continuous primary care services since its founding in 1994.  

Its services not only help to fill care gaps for those who are un-or-underinsured but also helps to reduce strain on the hospital system.  

“We’re not an urgent care center, we're not an emergency care center, said Veronica Gutchell, DNP, RN, CNS, CRN, assistant professor, chair of the Partnerships, Professional Education, and Practice at UMSON, and director of the Wellmobile, said, adding that a lot of their role is helping with hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and high cholesterol. “It's mostly chronic disease management to try to help and work with people to stay healthy so that they don't have to go to the emergency department or the hospital where they're consuming very expensive care.” 

Providers in the Wellmobile are able to diagnose an issue and follow-up with patients, Peña-Melnyk said. That preventative care is so important, she added. 

The Governor’s Wellmobile is funded through an annual allowance that pays for costs like the nurse practioners, outreach workers, and drivers, Gutchell said. Recently, they were also awarded a one-time $1 million allocation, which allowed them to build out two new trucks. Those have been out in the community for nearly a year, she added. 

While patients are encouraged to make appointments, Gutchell said, there currently is not a waitlist and walk-up clients can often be seen. Most often though, patients call and talk with a community outreach worker to get scheduled, she added. 

The exam and the visit with the nurse practitioner are all free, and Gutchell said they work to prescribe tried and true prescription medications when necessary, so that the cost remains low. The Wellmobile also has a contract with Quest Diagnostics so patients can can get a slight discount on their lab work, and they refer to organizations like Catholic Charities that can sometimes help get other procedures like imaging paid for. 

“We have a whole population of people who don't have access to health insurance, but they have chronic diseases and they need help with managing,” Gutchell said, “And that is part of the intent behind the funding of the Wellmobile — that we'll work with people who don't have access to health care or health insurance, and then we can work with them to stay healthy.” 

For more information about the Wellmobile, visit: https://www.nursing.umaryland.edu/about/community/wellmobile/.