Cobb & Douglas Public Health has been awarded up to $5.5 million over the next five years through a Healthy Start grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The purpose of the federal grant is to improve health outcomes before, during and after pregnancy for at-risk populations and to reduce racial and ethnic infant death disparities and negative health outcomes in the first 18 months of life, according to a CDPH news release.
In March 2019, HRSA awarded more than $100 million in Healthy Start grants to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce infant mortality across the U.S.
To qualify for the funding, communities had to have infant mortality rates at least 1.5 times the U.S. national average.
Within the CDPH district, at-risk populations were identified in South Cobb County and the city of Douglasville.
The federal grant will support a wide range of services for women, children and families, including healthcare coordination; case management; linkage to social services; screening and counseling for alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; breastfeeding support; inter-conception education; child development education and parenting support, according to the release.
“We are very excited and humbled to have received this grant,” said CDPH District Health Director Janet Pak Memark, MD, MPH, FACP. “We look forward to helping our community, especially women experiencing high rates of poverty, limited access to care and other socioeconomic factors that can prevent them from having healthy pregnancies and raising healthy children.”
In addition to decreasing infant mortality and removing barriers to healthcare, Healthy Start funding will strengthen the health workforce, build a more effective and efficient service-delivery system and promote and improve health equity across participating organizations, she added.
Among the organizations partnering with CDPH in this initiative are Cobb & Douglas Community Services Board, Georgia Health Policy Center, TIME-ER, Inc., WellStar Health System, Kennesaw State University, the Live Healthy Douglas Coalition and the Cobb2020 Coalition.
Since 1920, CDPH has been dedicated to improving residents’ quality of life by tracking and preventing the spread of disease, promoting health and safety, providing exceptional medical services and ensuring that this community is prepared for public health emergencies, according to the CDPH website.
Information: 770-514-2300, CobbAndDouglasPublicHealth.org
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