Maternal Health Care Delivery Model Grant is sponsored by Connecticut Health Foundation. Supports the development of a maternal health care delivery model addressing inequities and focusing on leading causes of severe complications and death during and after pregnancy.

Grant will support maternal health care delivery model | CT Health Foundation Tags: Grants , Maternal Care , Medicaid Grant will support maternal health care delivery model HARTFORD, Conn. (Oct.

29, 2025) – With a $50,000 grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation, Griffin Hospital will work with clinicians, community-based organizations, and patients to develop a model for delivering maternal health care that addresses inequities and focuses on leading causes of severe complications and death during and after pregnancy. The model will focus on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and mental health.

It will include support during pregnancy and one-year postpartum, and will include strategies to increase access to care; screening for risk factors and referrals to services; team-based care that includes doulas and community health workers; and strategies to incorporate evidence-based approaches into routine care.

This project builds on work by the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center to develop a maternal mortality reduction initiative. The development of the model will include listening sessions and will be informed by a community advisory group, with community engagement focused on Ansonia and Waterbury.

The United States has significantly higher rates of maternal mortality than similar countries, as well as severe racial disparities in outcomes. Nationally, Black women are more than three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, and in Connecticut, Black women are twice as likely to experience life-threatening complications related to pregnancy.

“There has been a tremendous focus on health disparities in maternal mortality in Connecticut and nationwide. It’s time to take action,” said Patrick Charmel, president and CEO of Griffin Hospital and its parent organization, Griffin Health. “In developing this model, we are taking a comprehensive view of the underlying causes of maternal complications and the steps that can be taken to reduce or eliminate complications.

Our goal is to ensure that all women who are pregnant or postpartum get the right care and support at the right time following a model of evidence-based interventions that can be incorporated into routine practice, especially for underserved socially vulnerable populations.

” The Connecticut Health Foundation has been investing in efforts to develop and test new ways to deliver maternal health care, including a grant to Hartford Hospital in 2024 to work with community-based doulas to rewrite hospital policies and train hospital staff to make doulas an integral part of patients’ care teams.

Next month, the foundation will publish a blueprint for maternal health equity in Connecticut, which will guide future grantmaking and policy efforts. “We appreciate Griffin Hospital’s commitment to advancing maternal health equity by working with community members to find ways to improve care in ways that are effective, research-based, and sustainable,” said Tiffany Donelson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation.

“Most maternal deaths and severe complications are preventable. It will take all of us working together to ensure that everyone in our state can have a healthy pregnancy, birth, and start to parenthood, and we look forward to working with those committed to achieving this goal. ” The grant to Griffin Hospital is one of 29 grants totaling $742,000 that the Connecticut Health Foundation Awarded in recent months.

They are: Connecticut Citizen Research Group , Hartford: $50,000 This funding will support Connecticut Citizen Research Group in its work to protect Medicaid, which is known as HUSKY in Connecticut and covers more than 900,000 state residents. The federal reconciliation law enacted in July requires many changes to Medicaid that could lead state residents to lose coverage or face more challenges getting the care they need.

Connecticut Citizen Research Group will work with other organizations in the state to identify ways to minimize harm to state residents and their access to health care. Connecticut Students For A Dream , Bridgeport: $65,000 This grant will support Connecticut Students for a Dream’s work to organize young people in Danbury, New Haven, and Hartford, with training and leadership skill development.

The trainings include building people’s understanding of Connecticut’s health care system and helping them share their experiences with health care. This work is part of the HUSKY 4 Immigrants campaign, which focuses on ensuring that all state residents have access to health care, regardless of age or immigration status.

Hartford Deportation Defense , Hartford: $65,000 This funding will support Hartford Deportation Defense’s work to support efforts to ensure that all state residents have access to health care coverage, regardless of age and immigration status. The organization is working with young people to develop their capacity to organize, inform others, and serve as leaders.

Make the Road CT , Bridgeport: $65,000 This grant will support Make the Road Connecticut’s efforts to ensure that residents can access health care coverage regardless of age and immigration status.

Its activities include education for community members on understanding health care coverage eligibility and how to navigate the health care system, working with residents to share their stories about the impact of a lack of access to coverage, and supporting immigrant families facing threats to their safety and well-being. Information is critical for people’s health, and often, the messenger is as important as the message itself.

Messages are far more effective when they are delivered by trusted sources, and the foundation has awarded grants to trusted messenger organizations since 2020. Most recently, the foundation awarded trusted messenger grants to organizations sharing information about changes related to health care coverage.

They are: Connecticut Students For A Dream, Bridgeport: $20,000 Family Centers, Greenwich: $20,000 Generations Family Health Center, Willimantic: $20,000 Haitian Hub Resource Center, New London: $20,000 Hartford Parent University, Hartford: $20,000 Immigration and Refugee Integration Services, New Haven: $20,000 Madre Latina Organization, Waterbury: $20,000 Make the Road CT, Bridgeport: $20,000 New Opportunities, Inc., Waterbury: $20,000 Project Access of New Haven, New Haven: $20,000 Urban Alliance, East Hartford: $20,000 Strategy and defense fund grants The foundation awarded grants to organizations for work to address challenges related to the changing federal landscape.

The organizations are: Building One Community, Stamford: $20,000 Center for Children’s Advocacy, Hartford: $2,000 Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, Cheshire: $20,000 Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Hartford: $10,000 Family Centers, Greenwich: $20,000 Make the Road CT, Bridgeport: $20,000 Malta House of Care, Hartford: $20,000 New Opportunities, Inc., Waterbury: $20,000 Project Access of New Haven, New Haven: $20,000 Urban Alliance, East Hartford: $20,000 President’s discretionary grants President’s discretionary grants are awarded to organizations and institutions that respond to the foundation’s overall mission or priority areas.

Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut , Hamden: $5,000 Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, or CONECT, is an interfaith organization made up of congregations in New Haven and Fairfield counties. This funding supported CONECT in providing training for its staff and member congregations on anti-racism and interfaith relationships.

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation , Mashantucket, $25,000 Office of the Attorney General , Hartford: $25,000 The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General will use this funding to host a one-day convening in early 2026 focused on the impact of health care consolidation and private equity on health disparities and communities of color.

The convening will include those from academia and policy experts and will be intended to help legislators and advocates explore potential policy solutions. For more information, please contact Arielle Levin Becker at arielle@cthealth. org or 860-724-1580.

The Connecticut Health Foundation is the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving health outcomes for people of color. Since its creation in 1999, the foundation has awarded more than $80 million to nonprofit organizations and public entities to expand health equity, reduce health disparities, expand health coverage, and improve the health of all Connecticut residents.

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