Healthy start initiative-eliminating racial/ethnic disparities - avera mckennan proposes avera bridging inequities regionally through healthy start (avera births): a community driven response to…

Healthy start initiative-eliminating racial/ethnic disparities - avera mckennan proposes avera bridging inequities regionally through healthy start (avera births): a community driven response to perinatal needs for care coordination and group-based education in south dakota to directly respond to the rising infant mortality rate for south dakota mothers with a high school education or less (target population). Comprised of rural, immigrant, and marginalized communities, the target population has the highest infant mortality rates (IMR) in south dakota, at 9.5 per 1,000 births. These populations experience higher rates of preterm birth, depression, tobacco or drug use, and poverty, in addition to lower rates of breastfeeding, and access to perinatal care. According to the south dakota pregnancy risk assessment monitoring (PRAMS) data, the combination of risk factors in this target population creates a stark disparity that led to adverse health effects for both mother and child. Avera births will establish a care coordination team including community-based doulas, OB advanced practice provider, dietitian, social worker, and RN educator to provide direct and enabling services for the target population, as well as group-based education and health promotion. Avera births aims to deliver perinatal healthcare services to rural areas in south dakota. As per the rural health grants eligibility analyzer, the proposed service area is rural and includes region 2, region 3, and region 4 of the SD PRAMS report, covering the following full counties: aurora, beadle, BON homme, brookings, brown, brule, buffalo, campbell, charles mix, clark, clay, codington, corson, davison, day, deuel, dewey, douglas, edmunds, faulk, grant, gregory, hamlin, hand, hanson, hughes, hutchinson, hyde, jerauld, kingsbury, lake, lincoln, lyman, marshall, mccook, mcpherson, miner, minnehaha, moody, potter, roberts, sanborn, spink, stanley, sully, todd, tripp, turner, union, walworth, yankton, and ziebach. Further information about the target populati on is included in attachment 1.