Grant Funding to Support Rural Health Care Coordination for Pregnant and Postpartum Mothers in Upper Peninsula Communities

Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions (UPHCS) was recently awarded a $747,428 competitive grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) to integrate health care coordination and housing assistance services for pregnant and postpartum mothers impacted by opioid misuse in the Upper Peninsula. HRSA awarded approximately $7.4 million for Rural Health Care Coordination Network Program grants designed to support rural health consortiums through collaboration, leadership and workforce, improved outcomes, and sustainability in rural communities.

The funding will support UPHCS’s Upper Peninsula Maternal Opioid Misuse (UP MOM) Model, which aims to address Opioid Use Disorder among pregnant and postpartum mothers and reduce neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) through a patient-centered approach. To do this, UPHCS will bring on Community Health Workers (CHWs) specific to this program to increase participation in home visiting programs, engage and assist program enrollees in opioid use disorder treatment, as well as completion of prenatal and postpartum OB/GYN visits and mental health counseling.

The UP MOM Model will continue to use best practices guided by a rural health consortium of partners including Upper Peninsula Health Plan, Northcare Network, Great Lakes Recovery Centers, UP Health System – Marquette, and the Marquette County Health Department. Over the course of the three-year grant, the UP MOM Model is expected to expand into two additional communities by bringing on new partners to the consortium and adding CHWs to each of those communities for patient-centered care throughout the duration of the grant.

“This funding opportunity will enable UPHCS and its consortium members to implement a responsive, integrated care delivery model and to work toward initiating a larger, systemic response to mothers and families impacted by opioid use disorders,” said Melissa Holmquist, executive director, UPHCS. Together with our program partners, we look forward to furthering our work to improve maternal and infant health outcomes across the region.”

The grant funding will support this program for three years. A full list of Rural Health Care Coordination Program grant awardees can be viewed here: https://www.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/community/rhccp-awards.