Franciscan Health’s Northern Division is among recipients that will have a share in $11 million in grant funds the Indiana State Department of Health is awarding to hospitals, local health departments and nonprofit organizations for projects designed to help reduce Indiana’s infant mortality rate.
Franciscan is among seven agencies that will receive funding through the state’s Safety PIN (Protecting Indiana’s Newborns) grant program. The grants are in addition to $12.9 million in Safety PIN grants awarded in December 2016.
“Infant mortality is one of the most pressing health problems affecting our state and we must ensure that we are doing everything possible to promote healthy pregnancies and help children thrive in their first year of life and beyond,” said state Health Commissioner Kris Box, MD. “This requires innovation and commitment from all corners of our state, and I am heartened by the passion and determination shown by the grant recipients in addressing this issue.”
Projects chosen to move forward are focused on prenatal care coordination; home visitation; healthy pregnancy spacing; smoking cessation during and after pregnancy; and promoting safe sleep education and crib distribution.
The grants are designed to be provided during a four-year period. Recipients will receive 60 percent of the funds during the first two years and will be eligible for the remaining 40 percent, based on performance in reducing the region’s infant mortality rate, in the final two years.
Joan Culver, Franciscan Health administrative director for women’s and children’s services, is the local project manager.
“We applied for the grant because infant mortality in Northwest Indiana is unacceptably high. The fact that we continue to have babies not making it to their first birthdays and parents living with that loss every day, is not something that should be occurring in any family,” she said.
“We knew, based on our success with the Prenatal Assistance program in Crown Point, that we have the ability to provide a quality program for moms-to-be. Receiving this grant will allow us the opportunity to reach so many more mothers and babies to ensure they receive the necessary prenatal care and support services they need to have a healthy pregnancy and beyond.“
Culver added that the bulk of the $1 million grant for fiscal years 2018-2021 will be used to establish a branch of the Prenatal Assistance program in Hammond with a coordinator, two social workers and other staff to serve as a hub for connecting expectant mothers with available resources.
Although similar to the site at St. Clare Health Clinic in Crown Point, the new location, instead of offering its own home visitor program, will work with programs already in place, such as Healthy Families and Nurse-Family Partnerships.
The Crown Point location also will receive additional resources. The money will be used to hire staff to operate the program, purchase educational and marketing materials, and used for outreach events to make people aware of the service, Culver said.
Infant mortality is defined as the death of a baby before his or her first birthday. Its most common causes are birth defects, preterm birth, low birthweight, sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries and maternal complications of pregnancy.
