Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Philadelphia Department of Public Health 1101 Market Street, 9th floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 Dr. Jessica Libove – Project Director 215-357-3773 Jessica.Libove@phila.gov www.phila.gov Re: HRSA-24-033: Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) is applying for $1,100,000 per year for five years under the HRSA-24-033: Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health for an urban project area in West and Southwest Philadelphia: 19104, 19131, 19139, 19142, 19143, 19145, 19146, 19151, and 19153. This project area continues to show a great need for Healthy Start services. In 2019-2021, there were 119 infant deaths which is an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 8.7 per 1,000 live births, over 1.5 times the national average. Within this project area, there are stark racial and ethnicity disparities. The (IMR) for Black, NH infants in this project area in 2019-2021 was 12.2, almost 3.5 times the rate of White, NH infants. PDPH Healthy Start (HS) will reduce infant mortality and address this disparity in infant mortality through the transformation of our long-standing Healthy Start program into a Community Doula model of care. Established in 1991 as one of the original 15 Healthy Start pilot programs, PDPH has decades of experience implementing Healthy Start in Philadelphia and continuously iterating on our program to be responsive to community need. To better meet the demands of Philadelphians and in response to the growing body of evidence supporting the importance of doulas in improving birth outcomes and reducing disparities, PDPH proposes to move to a Community Doula Healthy Start model. The PDPH HS program will incorporate case management/care coordination carried out by community doulas who are also trained to support and advocate for their participants before, during and after the birth process. The Community Doula Case Managers will provide evid ence-based health education and support navigating resources and linkages to preventive healthcare services, behavioral health and wellness, infant care and parenting, and access to community-based resources and benefits. A Behavioral Health Specialist and Public Health Nurse are also an integral part of the PDPH HS program, providing screening, support and education around behavioral health and complex medical issues that arise. The PDPH HS program will also offer group education and parenting classes at a community resource hub. PDPH HS will also continue to create systems change to reduce infant mortality and disparities in infant mortality through serving as the backbone entity of the Philadelphia Community Action Network (CAN) Community Consortium.
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).
