Kennewick General Hospital Foundation  KGH foundation has implemented an in-home monitoring system for women with high risk pregnancies as an alternative to spending weeks in the hospital.  Four qualified labor and delivery nurses were selected to receive training, including one proficient in Spanish.  Forms and home kits include precip kit, prenatal education and monitoring systems.  In addition, KGH reached out to the community by holding a prematurity awareness event attended by media, physicians and members of the community.

Informed Mothers for Healthy Babies Project: $25,000

Refugee Women’s Alliance  ReWA compiled a resource list for women in their childbearing years.  In addition, their curriculum for pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum issues was redesigned using the March of Dimes Pregnancy Workshop as a guideline, making sessions more culturally relevant for participants.  Promotion of the program included press releases, radio announcements and flyers for community distribution as well as ads on ethnic radio stations and in newspapers.  Workshops and instructor training sessions used the Pregnancy Workshop, as well as many other culturally relevant materials.  Participants completed surveys and evaluations.  Family advocates visited people who were unable to attend the workshops due to transportation or childcare barriers.  Through ReWA’s program, many families have been referred to Harborview Medical Center and the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies program.

Folic Acid / Multi Vitamin Education Program: $500

Klickitat County Health Department  The Health Department, located in both White Salmon and Goldendale, succeeded in dispensing a total of 109 bottles of multivitamins accompanied by educational materials to women of childbearing age.  March of Dimes educational materials were used in all cases.  Several medical providers and social service agencies in the area, such as WIC, MSS and DSHS were all notified of the project.

Maternal Health Information Initiative: $21,313

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital  In March 2004, a partnership began between YVMH and KDNA radio.  The station began a regular broadcast of “Bienvenido a la Vida/Welcome to Life”, a 40-minute radio program designed to provide mothers and parents-to-be with information about prenatal care and other maternal health topics.  The program aired weekly with one live, call-in show each month.  YVMH, with collaboration from the March of Dimes, also put on three evening forums in Sunnyside and Ellensburg called “Prevention of Prematurity” for health care providers.  Educational materials were provided to various resources in the area for disbursement to the community.

First Step Outreach Project: $13,500

First Step Family Support Center  First Step Family Support Center increased the number of eligible women receiving MSS by setting up a referral system with several local providers.  First Step received over 88 referrals as a result.  In addition, as a result of referrals from local providers, First Step was able to make 125 visits to 56 women who had high-risk pregnancies or were experiencing preterm labor.  Several First Step nurses attended programs by UW, Swedish and the March of Dimes to increase their knowledge of the prevention and management of preterm labor.  March of Dimes educational materials, including the Preterm Labor video, have been used at WIC and home visits, and at provider’s offices.

Oral Health Program: $23,071

Spokane Regional Health District (TERM)  The TERM program provided oral health kits and periodontal screening to pregnant women enrolled in SRHD’s First Steps Program.  Prior to this oral health program, no Public Health Nurses were doing periodontal screening.  Now, 12 out of 15 PHN’s plus three non-nursing staff are screening patients.  Most women who took part in the study were diagnosed with varying stages of gum disease.  Between the pre and post-tests, the number of participants that visited the dentist increased from 36.1% to 69.6%, and participants that had their teeth cleaned within the past year increased from 25.7% to 60.9%. 

Tobacco Free Babies: $22,595

Community Health Education Resources (CHER) Studies show that women are more likely to quit smoking if encouraged to do so during pregnancy. In an effort to impact premature birth and infant health in Spokane County, CHER provided smoking cessation classes to 130 pregnant women. The project also developed a system to encourage referrals from health care providers and help pregnant women access cessation services. In addition, 30 health care organizations were taught to provide smoking cessation training in their offices.