Amerigroup Foundation Grants Morehouse School of Medicine $1.725 Million to Support Narrowing the Maternal Health Inequity Gap through Training Program
Program will support more than 127,000 pregnant and parenting Black women and their families across Georgia.
Dr. Natalie Hernandez, Executive Director of the Center for Maternal Health Equity
and Assistant Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine.
ATLANTA – FEBRUARY 23, 2022 – Morehouse School of Medicine is pleased to announce it has received a grant of $1.725 million to be awarded over the next 36 months from the Amerigroup Foundation. The grant will help fund Morehouse School of Medicine’s (MSM) Narrowing the Maternal Health Inequity Gap through Training program. The initiative will reach more than 127,000 pregnant and parenting Black women and their families, with the goal of narrowing maternal mortality and maternal morbidity disparities through enhanced communication, reduced bias, clinical care coordination, and improved performance for marginalized communities. Specifically, the grant funds Enhancing Communication and Respectful Care Training, Training of Perinatal Professionals, and a rural maternal health residency program to expand the maternal health workforce in Georgia. The initiatives will be led by MSM’s Center for Maternal Health Equity.
“The support from the Amerigroup Foundation helps MSM continue its diligent efforts to narrow the gap in maternal health inequity where it matters most – on the front lines,” said Natalie Hernandez, Executive Director of the Center for Maternal Health Equity and Assistant Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine. “This program will train 60 doulas and 150 lactation consultants and connect 100 medical residents to communities where health inequities are the greatest.”
“At the heart of our mission to improve lives and communities is a commitment to ensuring our neighbors across Georgia can build a brighter, healthier future for themselves and their babies,” stated Mel Lindsey, Amerigroup Georgia Medicaid Plan President. “We’re proud to support Morehouse School of Medicine as it leads the fight against health inequity, and we are confident this program’s focus on maternal health in minority communities lays a strong foundation for lifelong equality in care.”
Through the Perinatal Professional Training Program, doulas and lactation consultants will be trained to support more than 8,500 pregnant Black women in Georgia. The rural residency program will serve 14,450 Black women over the course of the project, aimed at reducing maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Additionally, the grant provides increased training through Enhancing Communication and Respectful Care Training, which will be completed by 100 medical residents and 1,000 future health care providers.
For more information about how Morehouse School of Medicine is working to improve maternal health inequities, visit www.msm.edu.
About Morehouse School of Medicine
Founded in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is among the nation’s leading educators of primary care physicians, biomedical scientists, and public health professionals. An independent and private historically-Black medical school, MSM was recognized by the Annals of Internal Medicine as the nation’s number one medical school in fulfilling a social mission—the creation and advancement of health equity. Morehouse School of Medicine’s faculty and alumni are noted for excellence in teaching, research, and public policy, as well as exceptional patient care. MSM is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctoral and master’s degrees. To learn more about programs and donate today, please visit www.msm.edu or call 404-752-1500.
About the Amerigroup Foundation
The Amerigroup Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Amerigroup, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem, Inc. The Foundation works to address health equity by focusing on improving the health of the socially vulnerable through strategic partnerships and programs in our communities with an emphasis on maternal child health; mental health; and food as medicine. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates’ donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the Amerigroup Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation.
Contacts
Amanda Magdalenski
Morehouse School of Medicine
404-752-5238
amagdalenski@msm.edu
Michael Perry
Anthem
617-519-6206
michael.perry@anthem.com