Duke Endowment, MUSC deliver $13M expansion to maternal health program

The Duke Endowment and the Medical University of South Carolina have partnered to form an initiative across North and South Carolina to strengthen maternal and infant health outcomes.

The pair will expand MUSC’s HEAR 4 Mamas and Babies program to additional health systems. HEAR means “healing, equity, advocacy and respect.”

Using text messaging and phone outreach, HEAR 4 Mamas and Babies is an evidence-informed screening and a referral program which helps identify medical, behavioral health and social needs from early in the pregnancy until the following year of postpartum.

“We are thrilled to launch this initiative in partnership with MUSC, UNC-Chapel Hill and five health systems,” Jay Kennedy, senior program officer with The Duke Endowment’s Health Care program area, said in the release. “Our aim is to work together to replicate and scale this program in hopes of improving health outcomes for more women and infants across the Carolinas.”

The Duke Endowment allocated more than $13 million to the initiative, $8 million intended to support five health systems implementing HEAR 4 Mamas and Babies over the next four years. The release said participating health care systems will be Cape Fear Valley Health System, ECU Health, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Prisma Health and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

The other $5.3 million will be to establish a Technical Assistance and Training Center that is led by MUSC and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the release said. The center will provide training, technology, cross-site evaluation and data resources in addition to partnering with state agencies, Medicaid programs and private payers for long-term reimbursement plans.

“H4MAB was created to address the many gaps in maternal and infant health care by ensuring that individual concerns are heard and medical, behavioral health and social needs are proactively addressed by a trusted care team throughout pregnancy and the postpartum year,” Dr. Constance Guille said in the release. Guille is the training center director, H4MAB principal investigator and professor in MUSC’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. “With The Duke Endowment’s support, we now have the opportunity to bring this model to scale and improve outcomes for families across the Carolinas.”

According to the release, the model has demonstrated improvement in detection and treatment of mental health such as maternal depression and anxiety, substance use disorders, chronic health conditions, intimate partner violence and unmet social determinants of health needs.

The program has also helped reduce disparities across maternal and infant health care, connecting patients with personalized support.

“We are honored to partner in this important endeavor,” Sarah Verbiest, director of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC School of Social Work, said in the release. “By bringing together MUSC’s expertise, the H4MAB program, our experience implementing innovation in communities and The Duke Endowment’s sustained investment in maternal and child health, we believe this initiative has the potential to mitigate risk factors that lead to poor maternal and infant health outcomes, such as postpartum depression, while ensuring families across North Carolina and South Carolina receive the timely support they need to thrive.”