PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Women & Infants Hospital in Providence is planning on expanding access to maternal health services, specifically postpartum care, thanks to a $1 million grant from the CVS Health Foundation.
Care New England, which owns Women & Infants, said some of the funding is going toward hiring additional staff to help with the hospital’s Postpartum Hypertension Equity Program.
The program provides blood pressure cuffs and training to eligible patients before they are discharged to help them better understand when they should seek medical attention if any problems arise.
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“Patients continually highlight the program as life-changing, and it has already significantly reduced patients returning to the Emergency Department with hypertension-related complications,” Care New England said.
The grant will also be used to support a new postpartum mobile unit. The van will reportedly help remove transportation as a barrier to patients receiving postpartum care.
Care New England said the mobile unit will offer a variety of services including contraceptive counseling, breastfeeding support, mental health screening and hypertension management.
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