UnityPoint receives Maternal Health Excellence Grant

GRINNELL — UnityPoint Health-Grinnell Regional Medical Center was awarded the Center of Excellence Grant by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

The $212,500 grant is a targeted continuation of the Iowa HHS grant of the same name, with the initial planning period moneys presented to UnityPoint Health in December of 2021, and subsequent continuation awarded each year since to establish Iowa’s framework to sustain access to high quality, obstetric services for rural populations.

From July 2023 to June 2024, Grinnell Regional focused grant funding on maternal health outreach, postpartum support and connecting new parents with the resources they need, UnityPoint said in a press release.

These efforts resulted in 171 OB visits completed from July 2023 through May 2024 at Grinnell’s clinic outreach in Marshalltown.

Additionally, 111 postpartum home visits were completed by the public health team during the July 2023 through May 2024 grant period, UnityPoint said.

UnityPoint Health-Grinnell launched a postpartum support group in December 2023 to provide health care expertise and an avenue of peer community for postpartum mothers.

Postpartum support group is available to all caregivers in the rural Grinnell Regional maternal health region through the first year of postpartum and is offered twice a month.

Participants do not need to be UnityPoint Health patients to attend.

Six certified lactation experts support patients through inpatient, public health and clinic care, providing education and one-on-one assistance for a breastfeeding parent, helping them reach their individual breastfeeding goals.

Lactation guidance is also offered to postpartum support group attendees, UnityPoint said.

In the new grant period, UnityPoint will continue maternal health and postpartum outreach and postpartum support group and will connect patients to education, resources and supports they need, including mental health services, UnityPoint said.

Grinnell Regional will finalize floor plan designs for a fourth labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum room and renovate the existing rooms at Grinnell Regional.

Construction is tentatively expected to start in the fall with a multi-phased approach to ensure the 24/7 unit remains functional. Completion of the project is projected for mid-2026.

UnityPoint HealthGr-innell provides maternity care to families in a six-county region where maternal health care and OB delivery can be difficult to access.

As of January 2024, 61% of rural Iowa hospitals no longer have an OB unit, leaving only 36 rural hospitals in the state still providing OB care. 1

Providers at UnityPoint Health-Grinnell’s Family Practice Clinic and Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic provide OB outreach at the UnityPoint Health — Marshalltown Multi-Specialty Clinic to bring OB care offerings closer to more parents-to-be.

They are accepting new OB patients. Call 641-236-2905 to schedule an appointment to see an OB provider in Grinnell or Marshalltown.