Health Department announces expansion of nurse-family partnership

INDIANAPOLIS — the Indiana Department of Health has awarded nearly $10 million to four community organizations to expand Nurse-family Partnership programming across the state, helping to provide care and support for pregnant individuals and first-time mothers to promote healthy pregnancies and give children a successful start in life.

the funding, appropriated through Senate Enrolled act 2, will be used to increase the number of families served in existing counties and allow for expansion to new areas of the state. Grant recipients are:

• Healthier Moms and babies, for expansion in the Northeast region, $1.1 million

• Goodwill Industries of Michiana, for expansion in the Northwest region, $2.9 million

• IU Health bloomington, to expand current capacity, $210,064

• Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana, for expansion in the Southeast/southwest/

Western regions, $5.1 million “Nurse-family Partnership is an important partner in Indiana’s efforts to improve infant and maternal health, and we are grateful to our state legislators for investing in this work so that we can expand these vital services statewide,” said State Health Commissioner Kris box, M.D., FACOG.

Indiana’s Nurse-family Partnership program engages specially educated nurses to visit young, first-time mothers-to-be early in their pregnancies and through the child’s second birthday, addressing health and socioeconomic factors that can impact maternal and infant health outcomes.

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