Healey-Driscoll
Administration Launches Grant Program to Increase Access to Maternal and
Reproductive Health Services in Massachusetts
Grants aim to reduce health inequities by prioritizing investments
in communities with most extreme disparities.
BOSTON – This Women’s History Month, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is announcing plans to award $10 million in grant funding over three years to strengthen maternal health and family planning services in Massachusetts. The grant program, administered by the Department of Public Health (DPH), builds on the administration’s health equity initiative. The program will invest in access, workforce and infrastructure for organizations that provide a variety of women’s health services, including prenatal care, Post-Partum Depression (PPD) care, post-miscarriage mental health care, midwifery services, and reproductive health care. To reduce maternal health disparities, DPH will prioritize applicants based in
communities with the most extreme inequities.
“Our administration is committed to ensuring that residents
in every community have access to high-quality, comprehensive health care –
that includes reproductive health and family planning services,” said Governor
Maura Healey. “With this grant program, we’re ensuring that’s a reality in
every part of the state and investing funds in the communities that need it
most. In Massachusetts, we don’t just protect access to reproductive and
maternal health care – we expand it.”
“We’re strengthening our network of reproductive and
maternal health care, because we know that equitable access to these family
planning services can save lives,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This
Women’s History Month, and every month, our administration will do everything
in our power to ensure regional, racial, and gender equity in health care
delivery, particularly when it comes to reproductive health.”
This initiative seeks to support the recommendations
included in the Review
of Maternal Health Services that Governor Healey ordered, as well as the Racial Inequities in Maternal Health report developed by
the Special Commission on Racial Inequities on Maternal Health. In addition,
this grant opportunity is informed by listening sessions with pregnant and
postpartum families that DPH conducted across the state. DPH will award funds
to projects that help meet the specific needs of relevant communities while
also advancing maternal and reproductive health equity.
“Massachusetts leads the nation in access to reproductive
and maternal health services, but it’s on us to ensure these services reach
every community in our state,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate
Walsh. “Many of our most vulnerable communities experience higher levels of
maternal health complications – that’s unacceptable. By prioritizing
investments in communities with the most extreme inequities, we are tackling
these disparities head-on. Our administration has made health equity a priority,
and we will continue to work to increase access to care in every region of the
state.”
“We hear countless stories from our most marginalized
communities about the challenges they experience in accessing quality maternal
health care,” said Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD, Commissioner of the Department of
Public Health. “This grant represents our commitment to reducing, and
ultimately closing, the gap in maternal health disparities we see in the
Commonwealth, and it will help us provide every birthing person in the state
the care and support essential for a healthy pregnancy. By enhancing our maternal
health system through increasing access, supporting workforce capacity, and
strengthening infrastructure in communities most in need, we are taking active
steps toward achieving equitable outcomes for all families.”
Grant applications are due May 1, 2024. DPH strongly
encourages applicants to propose projects that effectively meet the specific
needs of their communities and advance maternal health equity. Potential
projects might include:
Enhancing access to prenatal and postpartum
services
Establishing and expanding access to hospital-based remote
blood pressure monitoring programs
Developing, evaluating, and disseminating a framework on
integrating doulas into hospital-based birth teams
Building system capacity and infrastructure
Developing outpatient or inpatient behavioral health
treatment programs for birthing parents and their infants
Strengthening infrastructure to improve access to birth
center services
Increasing provision of on-site prenatal care offered by
community health centers
Expanding perinatal workforce development
Providing free or low-cost antiracism and cultural
competency trainings to hospital and clinic-based health care
providers
Supporting funding for scholarships for doula training
programs
Supporting access to postpartum provider training with CEUs
on patient-centered contraceptive counseling
Expanding access to perinatal mental health screening,
diagnosis, treatment, and referrals
DPH will prioritize projects based in one or more of the 10
priority areas identified in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services’
Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts initiative, as
well those that promote racial equity and reproductive justice. Organizations
can apply on COMMBUYS before May 1, 2024.
The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to
protecting and expanding access to reproductive and maternal health care.
Yesterday, Governor Healey pledged to protect access to medication abortion following
Supreme Court oral arguments on access to mifepristone. Last year, Governor
Healey took immediate action to
protect access to mifepristone in Massachusetts, directing the University of
Massachusetts to stockpile doses and issuing an Executive Order confirming
protections for medication abortion. Also last year, DPH launched a toolkit to help public colleges and universities
develop abortion readiness plans. To improve maternal health outcomes
statewide, MassHealth recently began covering doula services and, in January, Governor Healey filed a budget including $1 million to build a new doula
certification pipeline.