Charlene and Richard Lugar in front of the Maternity Outreach Mobile (MOM-Mobile)

Charlene and Richard Lugar in front of the Maternity Outreach Mobile (MOM-Mobile)

Charlene and Richard Lugar outside of the Indianapolis Maternity Outreach Mobile (MOM-Mobile) during the Dick Lugar Fitness Festival, circa 1991. Like her husband, Charlene Lugar is an advocate for health issues, particularly neonatal care and care for children. When she discovered in the 1980s that Indianapolis was #1 in the country for infant mortality among African Americans, she began searching for solutions. An article in the Washington Post led her to a woman in the Washington, DC, area who had founded a service called a “MOM-Mobile” (Maternity Outreach Mobile), which drove expectant mothers to their doctors appointments. Mrs. Lugar established her own MOM-Mobile in Indianapolis, but rather than bringing women to the clinic, the MOM-Mobile brought the clinic to them, providing mobile services for expectant mothers in high-risk neighborhoods. The project was funded by the National March of Dimes and through the Charlene S. Lugar Birth Defects Grant Fund, and it was managed by the Indiana University School of Nursing. It ran for 13 years, missing only one day during that time.

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Undated, circa 1991

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English

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