HHS will invest $15 million over four years to address maternal health needs and disparities in rural areas of the U.S.
The agency's Health Resources and Services Administration said nearly $8 million will be through the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program to improve maternal health in rural communities, according to a June 3 HHS news release.
The HRSA is also using approximately $7 million to launch a program focused on strengthening maternal care and reducing disparities in the Delta region (within Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee).
Two Rural MOMS Program awardees — Mariposa Community Health Center in Nogales, Ariz., and University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute in Kansas City — will each receive about $4 million over four years "to test out new approaches to support, enhance and expand access to maternal care, including obstetric care, in rural communities," according to the release.
Funding for the HRSA's new Delta Region Maternal Care Coordination Program will "work to address unacceptable rates of maternal morbidity and mortality" in the Delta region of the South and Midwest, the release said. The HRSA expects to award up to four cooperative agreements to recipients in the region, totaling about $7 million over four years.
Read more about the investments here.