| The South Carolina Chapter of the March of Dimes hosted an Awards Reception honoring their 2008 Grantees at Brookland Banquet & Conference Center in Columbia on Tuesday, January 29. More than $600,000 in chapter community grants were presented to grantees for projects focused on improving the health of mothers and babies in South Carolina. This event was sponsored by the SC Chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
The Eastern Carolina Community Development Corporation is receiving $61,000 to reach 1,440 Hispanic/Latina individuals in the Pee Dee Region; providing services that include Comenzando Bien (prenatal education classes in Spanish), prevention education in hospitals, and individual interventions for the at-risk Latinas. The project also includes cultural competency training for healthcare professions, providing them with vital information for effectively communicating with and understanding Hispanic patients. In the first year of their project, Dr. Mauro Diaz, MPH, Project Coordinator and curriculum instructor, reached hundreds of women in the Pee Dee area through partnerships with Black River Healthcare, Inc. and McLeod Medical Center Dillion to education and support services to Hispanic patients. Jessica Mullen, Director of Program Services for March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter says “we look forward to continuing this partnership with Eastern Carolina and to promoting healthy babies in the Pee Dee Region”.
This year, 22 grantees in South Carolina received funding from the March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter. Statewide grants that will also reach Pee Dee include a project with SC DHEC Maternal and Child Health Prenatal Systems to conduct a safe sleep educational campaign “Give Your Baby Room to Breath” focused on promoting safe/healthy sleeping habits. The SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy will provide professional education and technical support to five clinics statewide to increase access and utilization of teen health services in Aiken, Spartanburg, Lexington and Williamsburg Counties. The South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative will provide smoking cessation education for pre-natal healthcare providers, and to establish a referral system for linking patients with appropriate smoking cessation resources. Another statewide partnership with the South Carolina Perinatal Association will support joint education for health professionals about maternal and infant health-related issues.
Select Health of South Carolina, Inc. is the Premier partner of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. Additional partners include BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, and Palmetto Health.
Last year, the South Carolina March of Dimes invested more than $4.2 million in program services, including research grants and local community services. Through these grants, the March of Dimes is seeking ways to prevent birth defects and infant death, reduce South Carolina’s increasing premature birth rate, increase access to prenatal care and educate men and women about having healthy babies.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies. For the latest resources and information visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE AWARDS RECEPTION EVENT |
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This grant is among 22 grants awarded in the state to improve the health of mothers and babies
For more information, please contact:
- Jacki Apel, Director of Communications
March of Dimes (803) 252-5200
- Leo Woodberry, Executive Director
Eastern Carolina Community Development Corporation (843) 665-4747 |
