| 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.
Chesterfield General Hospital’s project, “Tiny Toes,” is a comprehensive maternity program that seeks to provide services beginning in the primary care physician’s office, moving to the hospital during hospitalization and labor, and following infants upon discharge until their first birthday, seeking to increase availability and quality of health care and/or prevention services for pregnant women. Training for the Centering Pregnancy model of prenatal care will be included, which has been shown to decrease preterm birth rates in participants. Jessica Mullen, Director of Program Services for March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter says “we look forward to this new partnership with Chesterfield General Hospital and promoting healthy babies in Chesterfield County”.
This year, 22 grantees received funding from the March of Dimes. Statewide grants that will also reach Chesterfield County to 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 South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative to 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. A new project in partnership with Family Connection of South Carolina, Inc. will launch a Sudden Infant Death Syndrome educational campaign to increase knowledge of parents of infants who receive specialized care in NICU, promoting SIDS education and awareness.
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 |
