Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Title: Delta Healthy Start Collaborative Applicant: Delta Health Alliance, Inc. (501c3) Address: 435 Stoneville Road / P.O. Box 277 / Stoneville, Mississippi, 38776-0277 Director: Melanie Williams, LMSW / Principal Investigator: Dr. Karen Matthews Voice: 662-686-7004; Fax: 662-686-3522 E-Mail: kmatthews@deltahealthalliance.org Web Site: www.deltahealthalliance.org Grant Funding Request Y1: $1,099,990 This community-based Delta Healthy Start Collaborative (DHSC) serves the completely rural communities of Leflore, Holmes, Humphreys and Yazoo counties of Mississippi, with combined populations of 81,638 people. All addresses within this area are deemed eligible per HRSA’s Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer. From 2019-2022 our Black mothers - our target population - have had 34 infant deaths for an IMR of 13.7 per 1,000, over 2.5 times higher than the U.S. average of 5.4; 455 Low Birth Weight babies (rate of 18.3 per 1,000) and 493 pre-term births (rate of 19.8 per 1,000). The DHSC was established in 2015 by a consortium of healthcare agencies, social service programs, non-profits, and parents in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, to directly address our region’s high rates of infant mortality and poor maternal and infant outcomes. While improvements are being realized across the state, these improvements have been slow to materialize in our poorest, minority communities. Our partners have come together to establish a foundation of four evidence-based programs, designed to work in a coordinated fashion to create a pipeline of appropriate services guiding women through pregnancy, childbirth, and successful infant development. Our cooperative program builds upon the success of our previous DHSC, in which participants’ first trimester prenatal visits rose from 39.6% to 71.7% over five years, and low birth weight births fell from 15% to 9%. Tobacco use among participating pregnant women fell from 2.3% to 0.9%, and alcohol use went from 6.0% to 3.9%. This expansion seeks to add additional doulas and a lactation educator who is urgently needed to help new families facing disparities in maternal and infant outcomes. Each year we propose to serve 300 pregnant women; 50 fathers/male partners affiliated with Healthy Start women/infants/children, and 200 infants/children up to 18 months, preconception women, and inter-conception women (combined) in case management/care coordination services, with an additional 250 individuals served through group-based health and education services, for a total of at least 800 program participants each year. Our expanded collaborative will include four evidence-based programs including 1) the Parents as Teachers home visitation program, 2) Partners for Healthy Babies model focused on infant health and development, 3) the 24/7 Dads program to foster fathers’ participation and improve support networks for our single mothers, and 4) the Center for Disease Control’s Preconception Health programs to support women’s health between pregnancies and mindful development of a reproductive life plan. Home visiting Doulas will provide emotional, physical, and educational support to expecting mothers and those who have recently given birth. A certified Lactation Consultant, recruited directly from the communities served, will engage with parents regarding the stigma and barriers to breast feeding in our region. These programs were selected by the community and our partnering agencies to best leverage region’s existing resources while addressing our ongoing unmet needs to improve perinatal outcomes. Our project is eligible for full priority points under Priority 2 as it serves two counties (Holmes & Leflore) that meet 3 of the 4 possible criteria. Partners of this collaborative include the Mississippi Department of Health, Leland Medical Clinic, Life Help, Molina Healthcare clinics, the Social Services Collaborative, the Diaper Bank of the Delta, the Mississippi Action for Progress, and Delta Wellness Center.
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).
