HUTCHINSON, Kan. — There was a presentation of a $50,000 check to the March of Dimes at the Reno County Annex Thursday morning presented by Amerigroup, which works with KanCare in Kansas.
Frank Clepper, President of Amerigroup, was in Hutchinson to present the check along with Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and other state officials.
Prematurity is the #1 killer of babies in the U.S., and babies born even a few weeks early have higher rates of illness and hospitalization compared to full-term newborns. March of Dimes received a $50,000 Amerigroup Foundation grant to help prevent premature birth and improve the health of moms and babies.
In addition to the toll on families, economic costs for prematurity are estimated at more than $26 billion annually by the National Academy of Medicine.
The Amerigroup Foundation grant supports the Kansas March of Dimes Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait Community Program to prevent preterm birth. Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® is an initiative that encourages healthy, full-term births through education of women and healthcare providers, quality-improvement initiatives, awareness activities and community partnerships. The Kansas Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® collaborative is implemented in five counties, serving 500 women before, during and after pregnancy.. Local partners implement evidence-based clinical interventions and education strategies for patients, providers and the public to prevent preterm births in Kansas. These interventions include smoking cessation, progesterone therapy for high-risk pregnant women, prenatal education, and innovative approaches to optimize appropriate birth spacing for improved outcomes.
The $50,000 grant to the March of Dimes is part of Amerigroup Foundation’s ongoing commitment to addressing health disparities and improving public health in Kansas Through its Healthy Generations program, the Amerigroup Foundation is working to address some of the nation’s most complex health issues, among them, reducing the incidence of low birth weight babies and engaging mothers in prenatal care.
“This partnership is a great example of what the private sector and non-profit organizations are doing to help Kansans and positively impact our state,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer. “Amerigroup Foundation has proven it is invested in our state and working towards improving outcomes for all Kansans.”
This helps moms gain access to “Becoming a Mom” classes. These classes are for all moms and moms-to-be in Reno County.
The classes are held in the basement of Hutchinson Regional Medical Center and a few of the mothers who have gone through these classes were on hand this morning to witness the announcement.
If you want more information on these classes, you can contact the Reno County Health Department at 694-2900.