This $5,000,000 Project Grant award from the Department of Health and Human Services' Healthcare Systems Bureau (CFDA 93.493 - Congressional Directives program) aims to address and reduce infant mortality rates across Arkansas. The Arkansas Center for Women and Infants Health project will expand the reach of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program by implementing evidence-based interventions at 20 rural hospitals. Key components include: Developing and distributing...
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $599,887 Project Grant award from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health under the Community Programs to Improve Minority Health Grant Program (CFDA 93.137). The funding will support a 4-year initiative called the "Delta Maternal Outreach and Transformational Health Education Resource (Delta Mother)" project. The Delta Mother project aims to create community-level...
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) was awarded a $17,622,012 Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to improve outcomes for at-risk children and families in Arkansas. The grant, spanning from September 30, 2024 to September 29, 2026, will support the delivery of evidence-based home visiting services through four models (Healthy Families America, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters,...
This federal Project Grant award of $14,082,488.00 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to the States program (CFDA 93.994) will support the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) in delivering a comprehensive range of maternal and child health services across the state. The funding will enable ADH, in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, to implement the state's Title V Maternal and Child Health...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) a $17 million, 10-year Cooperative Agreement under the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model (CFDA 93.869). The goal of the project is to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Arkansas through evidence-informed interventions and a value-based payment model. Key products and services to be provided include: Expanding and providing sustainable reimbursement for an...
This federal Project Grant award of $900,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement program (CFDA 93.912) will fund the Delta Region Maternal Care Coordination Program led by Methodist LE Bonheur Community Outreach (MLCO) in Memphis, Tennessee. The program aims to improve access to prenatal, postpartum, and inter-conception care for pregnant women and new...
The federal Project Grant award of $899,978 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement program (CFDA 93.912) will fund the ALARISE (Resources Information Support and Empowerment) project implemented by the West Central Alabama AHEC (WCAAHEC). The project aims to improve and increase access to maternal care services for pregnant women and new mothers...
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) was awarded a $2,249,934 Project Grant under the Rural Health Research Centers program (CFDA 93.155) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The purpose of the grant is to develop a new, sustainable rural residency program in family medicine with a maternal health and obstetrics focus in El Dorado, Arkansas. The key products and services to be delivered include: 1) Establishing an Accreditation Council for Graduate...
This $800,000 federal Project Grant award, provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau under the Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs (CFDA 93.110), will support a partnership between the National Healthy Start Association (NHSA) and the National Parent Leadership Institute (NPLI) to expand policy change resources and build policy change capacity in six local Healthy Start communities. The key activities under this...
This $15,095,275.00 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families under the Head Start program (CFDA 93.600) will fund comprehensive early childhood education and development services for low-income pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children in Arkansas. The award recipient, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), will leverage its expertise in medical research, clinical services, and...
HEALTHY START INITIATIVE-ELIMINATING RACIAL/ETHNIC DISPARITIES - PROJECT DIRECTOR: DR. PEARL MCELFISH, PAMCELFISH@UAMS.EDU ADDRESS: 4301 W MARKHAM ST., LITTLE ROCK, AR, 72205 TOTAL REQUEST: $5,499,995 THE PURPOSE OF THE EMBRACE: EMPOWERING MOTHERS AND BABIES, REDUCING ACCESS CHALLENGES AND ELIMINATING DISPARITIES - HEALTHY START PROJECT (EMBRACE HEALTHY START) IS TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER PREGNANCY AND TO REDUCE RACIAL/ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN RATES OF INFANT DEATH AND ADVERSE PERINATAL OUTCOMES. ARHEALTH VENTURES, INC. (ARHEALTH) WILL SERVE AS THE LEAD APPLICANT AND FISCAL AGENT OF THIS COLLABORATIVE. ARHEALTH AND OUR LONG-STANDING COMMUNITY CONSORTIUM HAVE DEVELOPED A WORK PLAN AND CONTINUUM OF SERVICES WITH TWO FOCUS AREAS: 1) PROVIDING DIRECT AND ENABLING SERVICES AND 2) CONVENING A COMMUNITY CONSORTIUM COMPRISING DIVERSE MULTI-SECTOR PARTNERS TO ADVISE AND INFORM ALL EMBRACE HEALTHY START ACTIVITIES. EMBRACE HEALTHY START WILL TARGET AFRICAN AMERICAN/BLACK PREGNANT, PRECONCEPTION, AND INTERCONCEPTION WOMEN; FATHERS/PARTNERS; AND INFANT(S) AND/OR CHILD(REN) LESS THAN 18 MONTHS IN THE COUNTIES OF ASHLEY, OUACHITA, AND UNION IN ARKANSAS. THE TARGET POPULATION WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY ARE EXPERIENCING THE HIGHEST HEALTH DISPARITIES. THE THREE-YEAR (2019-2021) LOW BIRTHWEIGHT RATE IN THE THREE COUNTIES IS 15.85 PER 100 LIVE BIRTHS, 15.32 PER 100 LIVE BIRTHS, AND 14.61 PER 100 LIVE BIRTHS, RESPECTIVELY, AND 15.05% COMBINED (=12.5% AND =1.5 TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE). THERE WERE 160 LOW BIRTHWEIGHT BIRTHS DURING 2019-2021. ALL THREE COUNTIES ARE DESIGNATED AS RURAL, AND THERE IS ONLY ONE BIRTHING HOSPITAL IN THE PROJECT AREA. TO IMPROVE PERINATAL OUTCOMES AND REDUCE INFANT MORTALITY RATES, EMBRACE HEALTHY START WILL PROVIDE SERVICES AT THE INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND COMMUNITY LEVELS. WE WILL INCREASE UPTAKE OF HEALTHY BEHAVIORS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY BY PROVIDING GROUP PRENATAL CARE AND HEALTH EDUCATION THROUGH MOBILE CENTERINGPREGNANCY TO 250 PREGNANT WOMEN AND FATHERS/PARTNER S EACH YEAR. WE WILL INCREASE THE USE OF HEALTHY AND SAFE INFANT AND TODDLER CARE PRACTICES BY PROVIDING GROUP PARENTING AND POSTPARTUM AND INFANT CARE, EDUCATION AND SUPPORT THROUGH MOBILE CENTERINGPARENTING TO 70 POSTPARTUM WOMEN AND FAMILIES (TOTAL OF 320 IN GROUP-BASED EDUCATION). WE WILL INCREASE RECEIPT OF CARE COORDINATION/CASE MANAGEMENT TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE AND COMMUNITY-BASED RESOURCES BY PROVIDING INDIVIDUAL CARE COORDINATION/CASE MANAGEMENT, DOULA SUPPORT, SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATION, AND SUPPORT IN NAVIGATING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH (SDOH) TO 250 PREGNANT WOMEN, 25 PARTNERS, 100 HUNDRED POSTPARTUM WOMEN AND FAMILIES, AND 75 PRECONCEPTION/INTERCONCEPTION WOMEN (TOTAL OF 450). WE WILL CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN USING TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL MODES OF COMMUNICATION TO REACH AT LEAST 10,000 PEOPLE, AND WE WILL CONDUCT COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND HEALTH EDUCATION SESSIONS THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO REACH AT LEAST 500 PEOPLE EACH YEAR. OUR COMMUNITY CONSORTIUM WILL FINALIZE AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN TO ADDRESS "UPSTREAM FACTORS" AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH CONTRIBUTING TO DISPARITIES IN PERINATAL OUTCOMES IN THE PROJECT AREA AND DISSEMINATE NEEDS, UPDATES, AND OUTCOMES TO BROAD AUDIENCES.