$2.8M grant seeks to reduce maternal mortality rate
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn an effort to reduce Indiana’s high maternal mortality rate, Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana will use a $2.8 million grant to create a program to help pregnant women dealing with substance use disorders.
The Indiana-based Fresh Start Connect program will use funding from the Anthem Blue and Cross Blue Shield Foundation over three years to create a critical care pathway.
Indiana has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the country with 44 deaths per 100,000 live births. Substance use disorders were the most common factor leading to deaths, according to the 2022 Maternal Mortality Annual Report.
“It is a first step, at a grassroots level, for healthcare teams to diagnose affected moms early in their pregnancy so we can offer an intervention plan with wrap around support, which will continue after the baby is born,” John von Arx III, Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana’s president and CEO, said in a news release. “This new program connects with our Fresh Start Recovery residential treatment program, which provides residential treatment where moms get to stay with their children, five and under, during recovery.”
Health systems will first be identified as partners, which will then host a new team of Registered Nurse Community Educators, who will educate and deliver screenings of all pregnant women, the organization said.
From there, they will attempt to reduce health care gaps and refer women to treatment programs, such as the organization’s Fresh Start Recovery. Indiana has four Fresh Start Recovery Centers in Indianapolis, Columbus, Evansville and Winchester. The centers allow mothers to stay with their children under 5 years old during treatment.
“This grant fits with our philosophy on whole health–looking beyond a person’s physical health to include the behavioral and social drivers as well,” Dr. Kimberly Roop, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Medicaid division, said in the release. “As an OB/GYN, I know early intervention, comprehensive treatment and aftercare are critical to bring about safer pregnancies, healthier mothers and a decline in Indiana’s alarming rate of maternal mortality.”