Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
**Project Abstract** Project Title: Kalamazoo County Healthy Babies Healthy Start Applicant Organization Name: Kalamazoo County Government—HCS Address: 311 East Alcott Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49001-6169 Project Director: Derek Miller Phone number (269) 373-5165 office (269) 373-5279 fax Email address: dsmill@kalcounty.com Website address: www.kalcounty.com/hcs/hbhs Grant Funding Requested: Year 1: $1,100,000, Years 2-5: $1,100,000 per year The Need: In Kalamazoo County, the highest rates of Infant Mortality, spanning the years 2019 to 2021, are concentrated in the most impoverished and racially segregated neighborhoods, specifically the zip codes constituting the Healthy Babies Healthy Start (HBHS) Project Area. The zip codes of 49001, 49002, 49006, 49007, 49048, and 49080 combined have an IMR of 8.22, far above the 5.6 national average in 2022. Within this Project Area, the burden of crime, heavy reliance on public assistance, low graduation rates, and fragmented health services compound the stressors of poverty and segregation. These cumulative challenges take a profound toll on the mental health, health status, and healthy behaviors of residents, with the most vulnerable citizens—perinatal women and infants—bearing the brunt of these disparities. Geographic Focus: Kalamazoo County, Michigan - Zip Codes: 49001, 49002, 49006, 49007, 49048, and 49080 Tracts included within partial Zips: 1, 2.01, 2.02, 3, 6.01, 9, 10.01, 10.02, 11, 12, 15.01, 15.03 ,15.08, 15.09, 15.10, 15.11, 18.01, 18.02, 19.05, 19.07, 20.02, 21.03, 27.01, 29.07, 29.11, 30.07, 33.02, 55.01, 55.02, 61.03, 66.01 Comprehensive Approach: The HBHS program mission is to mitigate disparities in infant mortality and adverse perinatal outcomes, in particular infant mortality, within this target urban area of Kalamazoo County, MI. HBHS adopts a comprehensive approach that encompasses women's health before, during, and after pregnancy, as well as the health of infants and fath ers. Through risk reduction and health promotion activities, HBHS aims to improve access to care, foster healthy communities, and advance health equity. Leadership and Collaboration: HBHS plays a pivotal leadership role in advocating for system change and collaborates closely with the community to uphold a coordinated system of perinatal services it helped establish. Operating in synergy with efforts from our Community Consortium, Cradle Kalamazoo, and Title V programs, HBHS follows a life course model that spans the preconception, prenatal, and interconceptional phases for high-risk women and their families. Comprehensive Services: The program delivers a wide range of services to participants, encompassing outreach, care coordination, health education, risk screening and referral, as well as interconceptional services such as infant spacing, preconception care, and comprehensive infant care, including linkages to a medical home, immunizations, and well-child checks. Impact and Evaluation: The impact of HBHS is substantiated through a sophisticated, user-friendly administrative records system and continuous quality improvement performance audits. Evaluations assess the impact on care systems, participant health, and population-level health equity through both process and outcome evaluations. Community Roots: For over two decades in Kalamazoo, HBHS has firmly embedded itself within the community it serves and nurtured robust partnerships with local institutions for program development, networking, health research, and training. HBHS regularly meets with Cradle Kalamazoo, our community consortium, to remain collaborative in our efforts to address health disparities in the community on an equitable level.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
