The Wright Center awarded $7,500 grant to boost breastfeeding resources for Healthy MOMS Program
The Wright Center for Community Health has received a $7,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to bolster its Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support (Healthy MOMS) Program.
Healthy MOMS is a collaborative, multi-agency program that offers comprehensive prenatal, perinatal, and postpartum care and medication-assisted treatment for mothers seeking recovery. In addition to breaking down barriers and dismantling stigmas, the Healthy MOMS Program works to lower the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome, an outcome that breastfeeding has shown to help mitigate.
The grant will help provide essential breastfeeding resources and supplies to Healthy MOMS participants who may otherwise be unable to afford them, such as manual breast pumps, breast milk storage sets, educational materials, consultations with lactation specialists, and access to breastfeeding counselors. The grant will also support doula training for Healthy MOMS collaborators.
“This generous grant from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics allows us to strengthen our commitment to the mothers and infants in our Healthy MOMS Program, supporting them with vital breastfeeding resources and compassionate care while uplifting them and building their self-esteem during one of the most vulnerable and transformative times in their lives,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “Together, we are helping mothers on their recovery journeys while aiming to reduce neonatal abstinence syndrome in our communities — a goal made more achievable through the positive impacts of breastfeeding.”
Named after a similar program in Ohio, Healthy MOMS was introduced in Northeast Pennsylvania in 2018 as a pilot program in two counties, with initial grant funding secured by the Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Since then, it has assisted more than 500 mothers and welcomed 300 infants in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.
For more information about the Healthy MOMS Program, visit HealthyMOMS.org. For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-866-3017.
