UAMS, Madison County Health Coalition Discuss Ways to Improve Care for Expectant Mothers in Huntsville
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation joined a recent meeting of the Madison County Health Coalition to discuss ways the institute is improving care for expectant mothers in and around Huntsville.
In partnership with Open Arms Pregnancy Center, the institute currently offers a group prenatal care program – called CenteringPregnancy® – where expectant mothers receive prenatal care and education in a group setting with other moms-to-be. The program is designed to remove barriers that women can face such as transportation and lack of insurance while fostering a stronger support system for new mothers, Sarah Moore, an associate director at the institute, told the group.
Moore also discussed the institute’s Healthy Start program, which emphasizes holistic care for expectant mothers through navigation services, home visits and case management during and after pregnancy. Community health workers (CHWs) are also available to help answer questions and direct individuals and families to other local care systems.
“Our goal is to ensure mothers and families in Madison County are receiving the care they need,” Moore said. “To do this, we know we have to work with partners and organizations already established in Madison County to reach people where they are.”
CenteringPregnancy® and Healthy Start are part of the institute’s mission to improve maternal health across the state. In addition to those programs, the institute also recently began offering contraceptive services to women in Huntsville through its mobile health program. The institute’s mobile health unit is available to provide contraception services and reproductive health education by appointment between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month at Open Arms. The UAMS mobile health unit is also available for walk-up health screenings, which include blood pressure checks, insurance navigation, connection to local providers and more, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the Huntsville Library.
“We could not do our work without the support of local providers and organizations in Madison County, including Open Arms and the Huntsville Library,” Moore said. “We’re excited to continue to work together to help connect every person in Madison County to the care they need.”
For more information about the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation’s maternal health and mobile health programs, visit communityhealth.uams.edu. Appointments for contraceptive services may be requested under the site’s Maternal & Child Health and Mobile Reproductive Health tabs.