Special Health Resources’ mobile clinic rolls out women’s health initiative in Panola County

Published 3:24 pm Monday, July 21, 2025

A Longview-based nonprofit is driving women’s healthcare to Panola County, literally. Special Health Resources (SHR) has rolled out the Panola County Maternal Healthcare Expansion Initiative, a five‑year project funded by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that sends a fully equipped mobile clinic to Carthage every week. The goal: chip away at the gap that leaves much of our population without access to healthcare.

Each Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the clinic bus sets up at rotating spots: Brookshire Brothers, the Chamber of Commerce, Mission Carthage, or Iglesia Casa de Fe, offering everything from pregnancy tests and Pap smears to contraceptive implants and treatment for postpartum depression. SHR accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and most private insurance, but staff stress that no one is turned away. “If you walk through the door, we’ll find a way to cover you,” said Jahaziel Lopez, the nonprofit’s Mobile Health and Transportation Manager.

“Right now we’re strictly focused on women’s health,” Lopez explained. “We provide STI testing, a range of birth‑control options—from long‑acting reversible implants to three‑month injections—and breast and cervical cancer screenings, along with checks for hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol.”

Regular check‑ups are the first line of defense, clinic staff say. The mobile unit offers full women’s exams, clinical breast exams, and Pap smears alongside on‑site lab work, allowing cancers and chronic conditions to be caught early while they’re still highly treatable. “Early detection saves lives,” Lopez emphasized, urging residents to turn a quick Thursday appointment into long‑term peace of mind.

The stakes are high. “Through our analysis, we found that 46.6 percent of women in Panola County need maternity services,” Lopez said. “That number told us it is critical to be here and make a meaningful impact.” Rural East Texas is often labeled a “reproductive‑health desert,” with teen birth rates that triple the state average, shuttered hospital obstetrics units, and the constant need to leave the county in search of care. SHR’s 40‑foot bus clinic is one of the few places in the county where young women can ask confidential questions or a new mom can get her blood pressure checked without a two‑hour round‑trip.

Lopez emphasized the importance of community support. “We would just like the community to get to know us and to give us a chance,” Lopez said. “It’s very important that we get this program going. This is a five-year grant, and as long as we keep seeing patients and helping people, we can continue having this resource for the county.”

The nonprofit’s five‑year grant hinges on demonstrable impact, meaning every person who climbs aboard helps secure the clinic’s future visits.

For Panola County residents, that impact could be as simple as knowing there’s finally a place to get reliable birth control or a same‑day breast exam without leaving town. For SHR, it’s proof that a mobile unit—part doctor’s office, part lifeline—can rewrite the narrative on rural women’s health. As the bus idles under the Texas sun each Thursday, the message is clear: quality care doesn’t have to be miles away; sometimes it’s just across the parking lot, waiting with the engine running.

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