Healthy Start Inc

Catalysts for Infant Health Equity - Address: 400 North Lexington Street, Pittsburgh, Pa 15208-2566 Project Director: Jada Shirriel Contact Phone Numbers: 412-723-1373 / 412-247-4009 Email Address: Jshirriel@hsipgh.org Website Address: Www.healthystartpittsburgh.org Healthy Start, Inc. Pittsburgh (hsi-p) Seeks $2,490,763.54 Over 5 Years to Support the Southwestern Pennsylvania Birth Initiative—a Multisector Maternal and Infant Health Equity Initiative That Centers on Implementation of the “allegheny County Birth Plan for Black Babies and Families: Battling Inequities & Realizing Transformational Health Outcomes” (referred to as the Birth Plan). the Birth Plan Represents a Community-driven, Multisectoral Approach to Reduce Infant Mortality (IM) and Im Disparities by Preventing Excess Black Infant Deaths in Allegheny County. the Plan’s Key Action Areas – Identified by Community Stakeholders for Our Priority Population of Black Babies, Black Mothers and Birthing People – Address HP2030 Social Determinant of Health Domains Economic Stability and Health Care Access and Quality. More Specifically, Birth Plan Economic Stability Action Areas Focus on Transforming Workplace Policies and Environments to Be Supportive of Current and Future Parents; Improving Accessibility and Affordability of Child Care; and Addressing Food Insecurity and Nutrition. Birth Plan Healthcare Access and Quality Action Areas Focus on Strengthening Systems of Care (by Increasing Connection to and Collaboration With Community-based Care; Strengthening Sources of Community Support in Black Communities; Establishing Stronger Care Coordination and Integration; and Expanding Health Insurance Coverage) and Strengthening the MCH Workforce (by Retaining and Recruiting More Black MCH Workers; Supporting Non-physician MCH Workers, Doulas in Particular; and Establishing Standards, Practices, and Training That Enable MCH Workers to Provide More Compassionate and Equitable Care). Sustaining These Strategies Wil L Require Strong Strategic Partnerships. We Will Focus Both on Building a Robust Partnership Infrastructure and Engaging in Specific Activities to Coordinate and Streamline Local MCH Initiatives. Our Partnership Infrastructure Will Include the Multisector Birth Team (implementation Partners Responsible for Executing the Work Plan) and Infant Health Equity Coalition (the Project’s Guiding Advisory Group, Which Will Include Hsi-p’s Community Action Network). We Will Focus on Building the Capacity of Partners in Three Key Areas: Equity, Policy Advocacy, and Data. Our Specific Coordination and Streamlining Activities Will Include Reducing Overlap and Duplication of MCH Initiatives; Increasing Effectiveness and Efficiency of MCH Initiatives; Assessing and Strengthening MCH Organizations’ and Collaboratives’ Equity Capacity; and Increasing Equitable Funding for MCH Initiatives in the Region. in Order to Engage in Continuous Quality Improvement and Assess Whether Desired Impact Is Achieved, Implementation of the Birth Plan Will Be Monitored and Assessed by an External Evaluator. This Comprehensive Developmental Evaluation Will Employ Participatory Approaches to Explore Whether the Birth Plan Is Implemented as Intended, Whether the Desired Outcomes and Impact Are Achieved, and If and How Community Involvement and Strategic Partnerships Contributed to Achieving Program Outcomes and Impact. Hsi-p Plans to Sustain Implementation of the Birth Plan and Further Scale Efforts to Reduce Infant Mortality and Infant Mortality Disparities in the Region Through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Birth Initiative, a Collective Impact Model for Which Hsi-p Will Serve as the Convener and Backbone Organization.