*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
 1994.
10.31 :  Healthy Start Initiative/Rural & Urban Communities

Contact:  Shelly Burgess (HRSA)   (301) 443-3376
Monday, Oct. 31, 1994

    HEALTHY START INITIATIVE TARGETS RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES

     HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced the award of $89
million in continuation grants to the 15 communities participating
in the Healthy Start Initiative, a five-year demonstration program
to reduce infant mortality.

     Competitively selected in 1991, these 15 communities had infant
mortality rates 1.5 to 2.5 times greater than the national average. 
During FY 1992, the projects developed community consortia,
conducted needs assessments and wrote action plans to provide the
health care and social support services needed to meet the
initiative's goal of reducing infant mortality by 50 percent in five
years in the communities.  Services to children, women of
childbearing age and their families began the following year.

     Secretary Shalala said, "Every child needs to have a healthy
beginning. This year's awards will enable communities to continue
the expansion of clinical and case-management services and increase
educational activities that encourage healthy behaviors."

     Philip R. Lee, M.D., assistant secretary for health and
director of the Public Health Service, said, "The Healthy Start
Initiative builds on the principles of community commitment and
involvement to develop unique approaches that increase access to 
care and better coordination of services to decrease infant
mortality in  high risk urban and rural communities."

     The lessons already learned from Healthy Start will be reported
to the maternal and child health community.  Consortia Development,
the first such report, has been  produced by the National Center for
Education in Maternal and Child Health. It is now available free of
charge from the National Maternal and Child Health Clearinghouse,
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 600, McLean, Va. 22102, or by calling
(703) 821-8955 ext. 254.

     The 15 FY 1994 grantees and funding levels follow:

        FY 1994 HEALTHY START INITIATIVE CONTINUATION GRANTS

Baltimore City Health Department, Baltimore, Md.      $ 7,438,875
Jefferson County Health Department, Birmingham, Ala.    4,101,100
Trustees of Hlth. & Hospital of the City of Boston,
 Boston, Mass.                                          6,547,465
Illinois Dept. of Public Health, Chicago, Ill.          7,664,770
Cleveland Dept. of Public Health, Cleveland, Ohio       6,523,185
City of Detroit Health Dept., Detroit, Mich.            2,482,593
City of New Orleans Dept. of Hlth., New Orleans, La.    7,197,494
Med. & Hlth. Rsrch. Assoc. of New York, New York, N.Y.  7,714,515
Northern Plains Indian Tribes, Iowa, Neb., N.D. 
 & S.D.                                                 4,414,800
Northwest Indiana Hlth. Cooperative, Northwest, Ind.    3,695,515
Alameda Co. Hlth. Care Srvcs Agency, Oakland, Calif.    6,221,263
United Way of South Carolina, Pee Dee Region of S.C.    6,496,450
City of Philadelphia Dept. of Hlth., Philadelphia, Pa.  6,229,375
Allegheny County Hlth. Dept., Pittsburgh, Pa.           5,070,330
Department of Human Services, Washington, D.C.          7,197,270

TOTAL                                                 $88,995,000

                                 ###