Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2008

UniHealth Foundation Awards Grant to LA Best Babies Network to Improve Quality of Postpartum Care

Grant will help fund a collaborative of 10 clinical sites that aims to reduce gaps in postpartum care in L.A. County's multicultural communities.

Los Angeles, Calif.,  –  LA Best Babies Network, a perinatal network linking more than 100 individuals and organizations, has been awarded nearly $400,000 by UniHealth Foundation to improve the quality of postpartum care. The grant will help fund a collaborative of 10 clinical sites that will work with LA Best Babies Network to develop interventions to address gaps in postpartum care among racial and ethnic groups.

“This generous funding by UniHealth Foundation will help ensure that participating clinics improve the healthcare system itself and the delivery of postpartum care so more women and babies thrive,” said Carolina Reyes, MD, executive director of LA Best Babies Network. "Given that the vast majority of pregnant women in L.A. County have accessed the healthcare system, maintaining this connection in the postpartum period gives caregivers the unique opportunity to minimize known risks and promote maternal and child health."

The collaborative of 10 clinical sites will focus on gestational diabetes, perinatal depression, breastfeeding and family planning. The grant award will fund resources, tools, training and expert guidance for clinics to develop and sustain systems to provide a continuum of quality care for patients from the prenatal period through the postpartum period.

"Promoting the health and well-being of newborns and their families is a UniHealth Foundation focus," said Mary Odell, president of UniHealth Foundation. "This collaborative effort to reduce disparities in the communities served by the clinical sites has the potential to serve as a model program. LA Best Babies Network has the capacity to share lessons learned so successful interventions can be replicated by other clinics to advance postpartum care."

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About LA Best Babies Network

LA Best Babies Network is a dynamic network linking more than 100 individuals and organizations that are dedicated to improving the health of newborns and their families. Launched as part of First 5 LA’s Healthy Births Initiative, the Network works to ensure that high quality perinatal care and social support is available to all families throughout L.A. County. To achieve this goal the Network focuses on five interrelated strategies of the Healthy Births Initiative: (1) caring for mothers-to-be; (2) improving the quality of perinatal care; (3) creating a network of caregivers and advocates; (4) sharing knowledge and resources; (5) advancing policies that advance healthy births.

About UniHealth Foundation

UniHealth Foundation is a non-profit philanthropic organization whose mission is to support and facilitate activities that significantly improve the health and well being of individuals and communities within its service area.