WVa partnership gets $1M grant to assist rural maternal care

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A partnership dedicated to improving health outcomes for pregnant women and their babies in West Virginia has been awarded a $1 million federal grant.

Sen. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito announced the funding for the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The funding will support the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program, which works to improve maternal care in rural communities, the senators said in a statement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia has the 16th highest infant mortality rate in the nation at 6.31 deaths per 1,000 live births.

“New and expecting mothers living in rural and remote areas in West Virginia and across the country should have the same access to important health care services as those in more populated regions,” Capito said. “The important funding announced today will help close this gap and strengthen our efforts to protect the health and wellbeing of mothers and their children in our state.”