Four organizations awarded Nurse-Family Partnership grants
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The Indiana Department of Health has awarded $9.3 million in funding to support Nurse-Family Partnership programming throughout the state. The IDOH says the grants will support efforts to provide care and support for pregnant women and first-time mothers.
Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership was established in 2011. The state says the program allows specially-educated nurses to visit young, first-time mothers-to-be from the early stages of their pregnancies through the child’s second birthday.
The goal is for the nurses help the mothers address health and socioeconomic factors that could impact maternal and infant health outcomes.
The new funding, which was approved by the Indiana General Assembly, is earmarked to increase the number of families served in existing counties while expanding to new areas of the state.
The recipients include:
- Healthier Moms and Babies: For expansion in the northeast region – $1.1 million
- Goodwill Industries of Michiana: For expansion in the northwest region – $2.9 million
- IU Health Bloomington: To expand current capacity – $210,064
- Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana: For expansion in the southeast, southwest and western regions – $5.1 million
“This funding is critical in enhancing the quality of life for expectant mothers and newborns,” said State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, whose district is served by Goodwill Industries of Michiana. “Our state continues to face a maternal and infant mortality crisis, with infant mortality rates increasing in 2021 compared to 2020.”
Bauer said in a news release she plans to offer legislation that would build upon the program to serve more mothers and children.
She said the legislation would create a statewide newborn home visitation program, which would provide any new parent and child with a home visit from a registered nurse within two weeks of the baby’s birth. The bill would also cover adoptive parents and families who experience stillbirth.
You can learn more about Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership program by clicking here.