PROVIDENCE – Women & Infants Hospital landed a $3.2 million federal Health Care Innovation grant as part of the Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday.
The funding will be used to expand the Transition Home Plus Program for mothers in Rhode Island with pre-term babies.
Under the direction of Dr. Betty Vohr, medical director of the Neonatal Follow-Up Program, family care teams will be trained to offer education and support and to monitor infants’ growth and development.
The grant will also support primary care providers who help provide health care to the at-risk preterm population.
“This award will afford us the opportunity to expand our Transition Home Plus Program to care not only for extremely preterm babies, but also those babies who were moderate or late preterm and are therefore at risk for complications following discharge home,” said Vohr. “We have a wonderful team of caregivers who will provide services and support for these families.”
The hospital expects to train an estimated 120 health care workers over the next three years, creating an estimated 13 new jobs.
Women & Infants is one of 26 different health care projects nationwide to receive a portion of the $122.6 million awarded Wednesday through the Health Care Innovation grant.
“We can’t wait to support innovative projects that will save money and make our health care system stronger, said Secretary Sebelius. “It’s yet another way we are supporting local communities now in their efforts to provide better care and lower cost.”
The preliminary awardees are expected to reduce health spending by $254 million over the next three years, according to a release from Women & Infants.
“Preliminary awardees were chosen not only for their innovative solutions to the health care challenges facing their communities, but also for their focus on creating a well-trained health care workforce that is equipped to meet the need for new jobs in the 21st century health system,” said the release.
Wednesday’s award was administered by the CMS’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation through cooperative agreements over three years.
