High poverty rates, low education levels, a limited supply of providers and lack of access to timely care are just a few of the challenges that affect the health of women and their babies in the small urban centers and rural communities of central New York.

To help address these challenges and support improvements to maternal and child health services in central New York’s high-risk “hot spot” neighborhoods, the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York has awarded a total of $200,000 in funding to four organizations, Foundation President Ann F. Monroe announced Thursday, October 4, 2012.

Each of the following organizations will receive $50,000 in funding to focus on projects that connect women to care, enhance existing services and/or address any gaps in services in central New York’s “hot spot” neighborhoods:

• Center for Court Innovation, Syracuse, NY
• Family Nurturing Center, Utica, NY
• Herkimer County Public Health Nursing Services, Herkimer, NY
• Rome Memorial Hospital, Rome, NY

Central New York’s “hot spots” include neighborhoods in Utica, Rome, Blossvale and Taberg in Oneida County; Syracuse in Onondaga County; Little Falls and Cold Brook in Herkimer County; and Richland, Altmar, Williamstown and Pulaski in Oswego County.

This funding is one of three strategies the Health Foundation’s has developed as part of its maternal and child health initiative, which focuses on improving the health and health care of children up to age one and women of child bearing age living in poverty in central New York’s “hot spot” neighborhoods that have higher rates of high-risk pregnancies, low birth weights and infant death.

The Foundation awarded a total of $75,000 in grants to five organizations to expand midwifery services for low-income women in central New York in May 2012 and is also providing professional facilitation and technical assistance to health and human service providers in Oneida County to support better coordination of services for young children and families.  

To learn more about the Foundation's maternal and child health initiative, click here.