NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: July 20, 2005
CONTACT:
Amon Marstiller
(919) 256-3586
Foundation Receives Kate B. Reynolds Grant to Fund
Women's Health Outreach
New Effort Creates Women's Health
Training Program in 20 North Carolina Counties
July 20, 2005 - (Raleigh, NC) The North Carolina
Healthy Start Foundation is the recipient of a $57,000
grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to
fund a new program aimed at improving the health of
women in 20 North Carolina counties. The award will
fund a newly designed two-year program, The Next Step
for Mom, intended to provide training and technical
assistance to existing regional and community-based
programs that address improving the health of Medicaid-eligible
women who have recently given birth.
"We are pleased that the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable
Trust has decided to help fund this new endeavor," said
Janice Freedman, the Foundation's executive director. "Their
support provides vital resources for an innovative
project that builds on the N.C. Division of Public
Health's existing network of programs and the
education and training expertise of the Foundation."
The program centers on the Foundation's new
Taking Care of Me publication - a "how to" guide
for women following the birth of a child. Both the
guide and the corresponding training program stress
the importance of overall women's health and
continuing the positive health behaviors practiced
during pregnancy. Emphasis is placed on diet, exercise,
nutrition, planned parenting and physical and emotional
health.
"As an organization dedicated to reducing infant
death and illness, we strongly believe a key step in
reducing infant mortality is to improve overall women"s
health," continued Freedman. "The Next
Step for Mom is designed to assist women in making
positive health decisions and incorporating positive
health behaviors in their daily life."
The long-term goals of the program are to increase
women's knowledge and practice of health-promoting
behaviors so they are healthier before becoming pregnant
and to decrease the likelihood of unplanned pregnancies
(currently half of all pregnancies are unintended).
By specifically targeting Medicaid-eligible women,
the program reaches out to a segment greatly affected
by infant mortality and a population central to the
mission of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
The Trust was created in 1947 through the will of
Mrs. William N. Reynolds of Winston-Salem. Three quarters
of the Trust's grants are designated for use
for health-related programs and services across the
state and one-fourth for the under-served of Winston-Salem
and Forsyth County.
The 20 counties include those with state-funded Targeted
Infant Mortality and Healthy Beginnings projects and
the federally-funded Healthy Start Baby Love Plus network.
This network currently uses family care coordinators
to provide one-on-one support for Medicaid-eligible
women for two years post-partum. The Foundation plans
to utilize the existing network staff and local health
department staff to identify women that could potentially
benefit from the program, supplement existing resources,
and evaluate knowledge and behavior change through
exposure to The Next Step for Mom project.
