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Award-winning Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Dr. Joanne Patterson launches the McDougal Dual-Patient Model of Maternal and Early Childhood Mental Health, in which a mother and her child, from birth through age 5, are each assessed together as patients of record by the same clinician

NATIONWIDE (October 26, 2026) On a hospital mother-baby unit, a mother and her newborn are cared for as a single assignment. The nursing model is called couplet care: one nurse cares for both, watching how the mother holds, feeds, and settles her baby, and how the baby responds to her. Dr. Joanne Patterson worked that way for years as a perinatal nurse, often carrying three or four mother-baby couplets in a single shift.

“At the bedside, I never had a mother without her baby or a baby without his mother. They were one assignment, and I assessed them together,” said Patterson. “Then they went home, and the couplet was split. The obstetric office follows her. The pediatrician follows him. Nobody is assigned to the two of them anymore.”

After discharge, that split is built into the system. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatric clinicians screen mothers for postpartum depression at the 1, 2, 4, and 6 month well-child visits, then refer those who screen positive. Pediatric clinicians are not trained or paid to evaluate the mother. Adult psychiatric clinicians rarely evaluate the baby. The mother is screened, the baby is weighed, and the relationship between them, where trouble often shows first, belongs to no one.

“I have spent my whole career caring for mother-baby couplets,” Patterson said. “As a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, I asked myself a simple question: why would I stop now?”

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder during pregnancy and after birth, are among the most common complications of having a baby. Postpartum depression alone affects about 1 in 7 women. The stakes are high: according to CDC data from state maternal mortality review committees, mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths in 2022, accounting for 27.7 percent. Nearly half of those deaths were suicides.

This year, national attention on postpartum psychosis, the rarest and most severe of these conditions, raised a question that applies to all of them: who is assessing the mother and baby together? Most women have only one or two postpartum visits with their obstetric provider, while the baby is seen by a pediatrician far more often. Clinical researchers have called for perinatal psychiatric risk assessment to include the mother-infant dyad and the wider family, not the woman alone. Yet outside a small number of hospital and academic programs, no one is routinely assigned to assess both.

“Perinatal depression and anxiety do not happen to a mother alone,” said Patterson. “They happen inside a relationship with a baby who cannot speak for himself. So who is looking at this mother and this baby together, early, and often enough to notice when something changes? Most of the time, the honest answer is no one.”

The McDougal Dual-Patient Model of Maternal and Early Childhood Mental Health brings the couplet back together, by telehealth from home. A mother and her child, from birth through age 5, are each enrolled as patients of record and cared for by the same clinician in one coordinated visit.

The model works alongside obstetric and pediatric care rather than replacing it. Patterson plans to make it available to other Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners through licensed training.

After reviewing published models of mother-infant care, Patterson found no other independent private practice in the United States that enrolls mother and young child as two patients of record under one clinician in this way. Comparable care exists mainly inside hospital and academic programs, which most families cannot reach.

“A baby cannot tell you that something is wrong,” said Patterson. “It shows up in how he sleeps, how he eats, how easily he can be settled, and in the relationship with the person holding him. I was trained to see those things at the bedside. I built this model so that mothers and babies are never assessed alone again.”

The practice is in network with major commercial insurance plans and offers self-pay options.

If a mother is in crisis, including thoughts of harming herself or her baby, or signs of postpartum psychosis such as confusion or losing touch with reality, call 911 or 988, or go to the nearest emergency department. For support, mothers and families can call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, free and available 24/7, at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).

About Dr. Joanne Patterson

Dr. Joanne Patterson, DNP, MSN, PMHNP-BC, APHN-BC, is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Practice Holistic Nurse who has cared for perinatal and newborn patients since 1999. A former perinatal nurse in antepartum, mother-baby, and newborn nursery care, she has treated pregnant and postpartum mental health patients since 2019. Her mobile mental health clinic, Nurse Practitioners on Wheels®, earned the 2025 American Psychiatric Nurses Association Award for Innovation (Individual) and was featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show. She also received the 2016 Brandman University Musco i3 Innovate Award for the most innovative scholarly project. She is the immediate past International Stork’s Nest Director of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and was born and raised on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

About Dr. Joanne Psychiatry, LLC

Dr. Joanne Psychiatry, LLC is a telehealth practice providing women’s, maternal, and early childhood mental health care in Arizona, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Media contact

Joanne Patterson DNP, MSN, PMHNP-BC, APHN-BC
1-888-210-4050
info@drjoannepsychiatry.com

IN THE NEWS

• The Kelly Clarkson Show: Nurse Practitioners on Wheels
• CareSource: CareSource announces new mobile mental health unit to increase access to care, with a focus on new and expecting moms
• Black Enterprise: Black Nurse Practitioner Opens First-Ever Mobile Tiny Home Psychiatric Clinic in Georgia
• CBS Atlanta / Atlanta News First: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Creates Georgia’s First-Ever Tiny Home Mobile Mental Health Clinic
• The Virgin Islands Consortium: Pioneering Virgin Islander Honored Nationally for Mobile Maternal Mental Healthcare
• BlackNews.com: Award-Winning Black Nurse Practitioner Pioneers a Private Practice Model That Treats Mother and Baby as Two Mental Health Patients
• Medscape: On the Road and Out of the Clinic: NPs Deliver Mental Health on Wheels

Atlanta, GA (October 23, 2025) Joanne Patterson, DNP, MSN, PMHNP-BC, founder of Nurse Practitioners on Wheels®, has been named the recipient of the Nurse Innovator Award by The American Psychiatric Nurses Association, honoring her groundbreaking work bringing compassionate, innovative psychiatric-mental health care directly to women and children where they are. Born and raised in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, Dr. Patterson brings a deep commitment to equitable, community-centered care that reflects her Caribbean roots and passion for service.

Patterson’s “tiny house” mobile clinic, Nurse Practitioners on Wheels®, blends warm, patient-centered care with data-informed practice to expand access to reproductive psychiatry and maternal mental health services across Georgia. Through telepsychiatry, she also serves patients in Maryland, Washington, DC, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“As nurses, we see a need and wefill it,” said Dr. Patterson. “I started as an OB nurse working with high-risk
mothers and saw gaps in mental health services, especially postpartum whe anxiety, depression, and OCD can occur. I knew I wanted to be part of the solution so I became a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and built a model that meets patients where they are.”

Recognized for Impact and Scale

- In 2022, Patterson launched the Nurse Practitioners on Wheels® mobileclinic, a cozy, 200-square-foot tiny house redesigned as a mental health unit focused on reproductive and pediatric psychiatry.

- In 2023, she partnered with CareSource Medicaid of Georgia’s Wellnesson Wheels (WOW) program, appearing at health fairs, schools, Boys & Girls Club locations, and clinics for the uninsured or underinsured. The CareSource
Wellness On Wheels Initiative has seen over 15,000 patients.

- Media coverage of the clinic’s impact went viral, leading to anappearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where BetterHelp online therapy surprised Patterson with a $10,000 donation to support her mission.

“The APNA Annual Awards celebrate psychiatric-mental health nurses who are breaking barriers, inspiring change,
and transforming psychiatric-mental health care. From advancing clinical practice to pioneering research, designing innovative approaches, and mentoring future professionals, the 2025 APNA Annual Award recipients show the impact of passion, resilience, and resourcefulness in action,” said The American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

About Nurse Practitioners onWheels®

Nurse Practitioners on Wheels® is a tiny-house mobile clinic founded byJoanne Patterson, DNP, MSN, PMHNP-BC, originally from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, delivering compassionate, evidence-based psychiatric care to women and
children, with a focus on reproductive psychiatry and maternal mental health. The clinic travels across Georgia and leverages telepsychiatry to reach patients in multiple jurisdictions, expanding access to timely, stigma-reducing
care.

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Media Contact:

Dr. JoannePsychiatry

info@drjoannepsychiatry.com

www.drjoannepsychiatrynp.com

888-210-4050

Nurse Practitioners on Wheels® is a registered trademark of its owner.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Atlanta, GA. (August 17, 2023) Meet Dr. Joanne McDougal Patterson, a pioneering psychiatric nurse practitioner and entrepreneur that has revolutionized mental health treatment in Metro Atlanta by establishing the first-ever tiny home clinic. This groundbreaking initiative aims to provide culturally accessible mental healthcare to residents in the area. The tiny home clinic offers a warm and inviting setting reminiscent of a home, creating a comfortable environment for patients, particularly women and children, to receive specialized treatment.

In addition to her physical clinic, she also offers virtual visits to individuals located in Maryland, Washington D.C., Florida, and Nevada. This virtual option ensures that distance or geographical barriers do not hinder anyone from accessing the care they need. To further enhance accessibility, the clinic accepts all commercial insurances, Maryland Medicaid, Georgia Medicaid, and offers self-pay options.

To learn more about McDougal Patterson’s groundbreaking approach to mental healthcare and explore the various services provided, follow @drjoannepsychiatrynp on social media and visit https://linktr.ee/drjoannepsychiatrynp.

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About Dr. Joanne Psychiatry

Dr. Joanne Psychiatry is a private practice whose aim is to improve access to mental health care and provide community and culturally appropriate integrative psychiatric treatment to the modern woman and her family.

Media Contact:

Dr. Joanne Psychiatry

info@drjoannepsychiatry.com

888-210-4050