In a state where mental health care access can be limited, especially for Black communities, one nurse is serving Black Atlantans in an unconventional way – by running a clinic on wheels.
Psychiatric nurse practitioner Joanne Patterson launched a virtual practice in 2019 and served over 6,000 patients during the past six years. But after the COVID-19 pandemic, she began rethinking her approach to care.
In 2023, she bought a tiny house and converted it into a fully operational mobile mental health clinic.
“I just wanted to make sure that women and children were receiving mental health care in a more cozy, warm environment where they could come in and feel very comfortable,” Patterson told Capital B Atlanta.
Born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she originally started her career in health care as an obstetrics nurse. She said that as a child, she was fascinated by babies and her passion for reproductive health led her to become a practicing obstetrics nurse for five years.
Patterson, 48, said she was inspired to become a psychiatric nurse after seeing how much extra support mothers needed in the postpartum period of their lives. When Patterson’s son was born prematurely, the experience changed the way she wanted to help people moving forward.
“I don’t think people realize what that feels like, having a baby before they’re due and then just having to shift all of your energy and attention to making sure that they graduate out of the NICU. That alone just kind of set this fire underneath me to do things differently and be the provider that I wanted to see out there,” said Patterson.
In a partnership with CareSource, a Medicaid managed care provider in Georgia, her mobile clinic now visits schools, churches, health fairs, shelters, and more, offering services ranging from mental health screenings to psychiatric evaluations. She sees those with and without insurance throughout the metro Atlanta area.
With a specialty in maternal mental health, Patterson said the majority of her patients are women and children, many of whom are Black and often excited to be seen by a Black provider.
“What’s so rewarding to me is hearing women say, ‘It is so refreshing to be able to be seen and heard by someone that looks like me.’ That’s always heartwarming because it breaks down barriers,” said Patterson.
In Georgia, access to mental health care is scarce as the majority of counties, including Fulton and Dekalb, had a shortage of providers in April 2025, according to Rural Health Information Hub.
Access to help becomes increasingly harder without medical insurance. In 2023, approximately 12% of Black residents and 30% of Hispanic residents in the state were uninsured, while the rate for white residents was about 10%, according to a report from KFF.
“We just see the need and we fill it,” said Patterson.
In a conversation with Capital B Atlanta, Patterson talked about the pressing mental health issues in Atlanta, her work supporting Black mothers, the importance of racial representation in health care, and the stigma surrounding therapy in the Black community. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Capital B: For Black women in particular, how do you think your practice can help them?
Joanne Patterson: It matters that you are seen and heard by someone who can get it. And sometimes during the appointments, we’re talking about hair, talking about the nuances that come with being a woman of color in this country. We talk about how things are perceived at work and the cultural things that employers may not pick up on or understand. And they sit with me and they talk about that kind of stuff without any problems because they know I’m going to understand what they’re talking about. So that’s the kind of stuff that warms my heart, just being able to provide that kind of environment – there’s no price on that.
What has surprised you the most on your journey to start the mobile clinic?
People want something different. When this went viral, I got lots of comments from other states, like, “Oh, you need to come to Idaho. You need to come to Louisiana.” You know, people really want a different type of mental health care. So right now, it’s a realization that expansion is needed.
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In your opinion, what are some of the most pressing mental health issues for Black people in Atlanta?
Unemployment … and then there’s judgment with that. But, when you walk into the clinic, it is very well appointed and comfy and so everyone gets the same type of treatment, and they are able to relax and just talk about what’s troubling them. Then we can connect them with resources. I have written accommodations. I see what I have to do because any of us can end up in that predicament anytime in our lives, anytime. And I make sure that they understand that there are people in their corner.
“Mental health care is just as important as physical care.”
Joanne Patterson
The Black maternal mortality rate in Georgia is high. How has this issue impacted the way you serve patients who are mothers?
As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I’m the first clinician that they will see after they’ve given birth. So when they deliver, when they leave the hospital, I’ve already set up an appointment with them two weeks in advance, so that I can make sure their mental health is not declining, because that’s part of the maternal mortality rate, too.
I have been an OB nurse in the past, so I know that area very well. So it’s me just doing my part, but primarily focusing on the maternal mental health piece, but also the OB piece as well, because I’ve worked with babies, I monitor that too.
I’ll usually say, “When was the last time you saw your OB?” And I’m also asking questions, like, “Are you feeling the baby kick?” So I am helping or assisting to make sure that that is not the case for a patient, not being seen by anyone for weeks at a time.
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What’s something important you want people to know about mental health care?
I think that mental health is starting to really take off in terms of taking care of yourself. And I just want that to continue. So what I typically do is get on Instagram and sometimes I go on, I call them, educated rants, so that people are aware that it’s normal to be able to seek mental health care.
Mental health care is just as important as physical care. So if you’re doing preventative care, I think mental health has to be a part of that. … I would love for people to start thinking about doing preventative mental health care, so just checking in with the therapist, just to process things, just to make sure that you’re on the right track. I think that should be the next conversation we have about mental health care. We’ve finally gotten people to start going when things have started to decline. Now let’s see if we can start getting them to engage in preventative mental health care.
