The Wellmobile was at the State House providing free health screenings to highlight to the Maryland delegation just a small sample of the free services it offers to Marylanders who need it most.
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 former 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.