NEWS
West Virginia University School of Medicine
WVU Widens Service Area to Assist Pregnant Women , Parenting Families
WVU Rural Psychiatry Residency Track Receives Full ACGME Accreditation
A West Virginia University ( WVU ) -led effort is extending its reach to 11 mountain state counties , providing more low-income pregnant women and families with children access to healthcare and life skills through the West Virginia ( WV ) Healthy Start / Helping Appalachian Parents and Infants ( HAPI ) project .
In partnership with local organizations , the program serves communities with infant mortality rates at least 1.5 times the United States national average and with high percentages of other negative maternal and infant outcomes . The goal is to turn around those numbers by reducing incidences of preterm labor and low birth rate and improving the overall health of mothers and families .
The HAPI project is administered by the WVU School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics , Gynecology , and Reproductive Sciences and the WVU Research Office . A recent grant from the U . S . Department of Health and Human Service will continue funding with $ 1.1 million annually for the next five years for assistance in Barbour , Harrison , Marion , Monongalia , Preston , Randolph , Upshur , Doddridge , Hardy , Marshall , and Wetzel counties .
For more than two decades , the program has partnered with community agencies and organizations to provide maternity services and a multitude of resources ranging from healthy solutions and preventative care to parenting education , career planning , and personal relationship goals .
More than 800 West Virginia women or families participate each year . Once a baby is delivered , HAPI follows through with support for 18 months for mom , dad , the newborn , and siblings .
“ We have spent 23 years building a network of providers and partners to address the needs of pregnant and parenting families and will now be able to continue to expand our reach to additional counties that need us . We want to keep growing and responding to the needs of our West Virginia families and contribute to the health and well-being of West Virginia in general ,” Penny Womeldorff , director of the West Virginia Healthy Start / HAPI Project , said .
HAPI works hand-in-hand with Right From The Start , a state program that provides case management and home visitation services for pregnant women , postpartum women , and infants up to age 1 year who have Medicaid , CHIP , or maternity services coverage and expands on those offerings .
“ We partner with them to provide a much more comprehensive package of services for the families we serve ,” Womeldorff said . “ We use the same staff of nurses and social workers who provide both programs in our region . It ’ s a lot of case management and education centered around healthy pregnancy behaviors . We look at things like perinatal mood disorders and postpartum depression , anxiety ,
30 • www . wvsma . org