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New Mobile Mental Health Van Provides Rural Oklahomans with More Access
June 25, 2025
TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Caring Foundation and GRAND Mental Health have unveiled their new mbile mental health clinic. The partnership provides access to mental health care to thousands of underserved Oklahomans in Tulsa's surrounding rural areas.
The Oklahoma Caring Foundation, administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, supports programs that provide access to preventive services, including the Oklahoma Caring Vans. Since 2004, the Caring Vans have helped make preventive health care more accessible to more than 240,000 Oklahomans by eliminating barriers such as inconvenient clinic hours, transportation and cost.
The new partnership between OCF and GRAND features a cobranded Caring Van coordinated and staffed by GRAND and administered by OCF.
“One of the biggest barriers to quality mental health care is access,” said Josh Cantwell, GRAND Mental Health's CEO. "Through this partnership we can better connect people with valuable resources and services where and when they need them, changing lives and communities for the better.”
The GRAND Mental Health Caring Van provides free mental health support services, including mental health screenings, consultations, Medicaid application assistance, housing and job placement support, information and resources. The mobile clinic serves youth and adults in Craig, Delaware, Kay, Mayes, Osage, Ottawa, Payne, Pawnee, Tulsa, Noble, Nowata, Rogers and Washington counties.
“Barriers to access don’t contain themselves to just physical health,” said Brooke Townsend, the Caring Foundation's executive director. “Access to adequate and comprehensive mental health services is a need statewide. Our new collaboration with GRAND Mental Health will allow the foundation to expand the services we offer Oklahomans aboard our Caring Vans, filling a gap in rural mental health care. We are excited about this new partnership and the opportunity to reach more Oklahomans where they are.”
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About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
For 85 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma has been committed to meeting the health care financing needs of Oklahomans. As the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma provides health care benefit plans for more than 850,000 Oklahomans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
About GRAND Mental Health
GRAND Mental Health provides services for adults, children, adolescents, and families struggling with behavioral health issues, substance use issues, and integrated medical needs across northeastern and north central Oklahoma. In business since 1979, GRAND Mental Health is a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) providing evidence-based mental health and substance use services, integrated with primary health care and wraparound support services, all focused on improving lives through innovation and access. GRAND Mental Health operates 31 clinics and centers in 13 Oklahoma counties, serving over 28,000 clients last year and employing more than 2,100 people. GRAND Mental Health works closely with and is partially funded by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
About The Oklahoma Caring Foundation
The Oklahoma Caring Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization administered as an in-kind gift by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, a Division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company. These companies are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The Foundation was established in 1994 to improve the health of Oklahoma children through vaccinations and access to basic, preventive health care. For more information, visit oklahomacaringfoundation.org.
Media Contacts
BCBSOK
Tricia Ament
Tricia_Ament@bcbsok.com
918.261.7548
GRAND
Ron Brady
Rbrady@grandmh.com
918.600.5790