Family Health Centers of Georgia Receives $75,000 from UnitedHealthcare to Expand Healthy Babies Program

The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc. (FHCGA) received $75,000 from UnitedHealthcare to help increase access to and utilization of preventive health services for pregnant women and new mothers, particularly in underserved communities.

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Jocelyn Chisholm Carter of UnitedHealthcare (second from left) presents a $75,000 check to The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc. to support the Georgia Department of Community Health's Planning for Healthy Babies (P4HB) program and help reduce the number of babies born at risk for life-long health challenges. L to R: State Rep. Pat Gardner; Jocelyn Chisholm Carter; Dr. Michael Brooks, MBA, president/CEO, The Family Health Centers of Georgia; Atlanta City Council Member Cleta Winslow; and State Senator Vincent Fort (Photo: Wingate Downs).

The grant supports the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Planning for Healthy Babies (P4HB) program (www.dch.georgia.gov/p4hb), which was created to help reduce the number of babies born at risk for life-long health challenges. The Family Health Centers of Georgia will work to increase the enrollment of eligible women into the P4HB program that offers family planning and related services for all eligible women, plus nurse case management and care and treatment of chronic conditions for eligible women who have delivered a low-birth-weight baby.

In addition, FHCGA will work to connect women, new mothers and their babies to preventive health and comprehensive health care services through its statewide family planning initiative, the Georgia Family Planning System (www.georgiafamilyplanningsystem.org).

“UnitedHealthcare’s support is important to our patients and to medically underserved populations throughout Georgia. This grant increases our capacity to educate young women and mothers on the programs and services available to them and their children. Our goal is to improve their health and well-being,” said Dr. Michael Brooks, MBA, president and CEO of FHCGA. “The Family Health Centers has had a longstanding relationship with UnitedHealthcare, and its continued support goes a long way in helping us improve access to quality health care.”

Jocelyn Chisholm Carter of UnitedHealthcare announced the grants while visiting with patients, doctors and staff at The Family Health Centers of Georgia in Atlanta.

“The Family Health Centers is having a tremendous impact in communities throughout Georgia, helping provide education, training and health services in underserved areas,” said Carter. “We are honored to help provide new resources and tools that will help expand programs for young women and mothers that will help them live healthier lives.”

This year, UnitedHealthcare has provided nearly $250,000 in grants to more than a dozen community-based organizations and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Georgia, and are part of UnitedHealthcare’s efforts to develop solutions that help care for the economically disadvantaged, the medically underserved and people who lack access to employer-funded health care coverage.

“This grant from UnitedHealthcare will provide important resources to The Family Health Centers of Georgia that will help families in our community have greater access to care and services,” said State Rep. Pat Gardner.

FQHCs provide comprehensive health services, including dental, vision and mental health services, in a single location for medically underserved patients. Compared to the general population, health center patients are disproportionately poor, uninsured or publicly insured. Medical professionals at FQHCs are often trained to recognize and understand the unique language, cultural and economic barriers that can discourage people from seeking care. Georgia’s FQHC organizations provide care at 152 clinic sites in 86 counties across the state and are represented by the Georgia Association for Primary Health Care.

According to the 2014 America’s Health Rankings® report, an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis, Georgia ranks 38^th in overall health. Nearly 10 percent of infants weigh less than 5 pounds 8 ounces at birth, and nearly 7 infants per 1,000 live births die annually. Community health organizations, like the ones receiving the UnitedHealthcare grants, can help improve the state’s low-ranking measures.

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 1 million people in Georgia with a network of 166 hospitals and more than 22,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.

About The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc. (FHCGA)
The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc. (FHCGA) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3, federally qualified community health center. FHCGA is NCQA Recognized Level 3 and accredited by The Joint Commission as a Primary Care Medical Home. FHCGA has been providing comprehensive primary healthcare services since 1975. The mission of The Family Health Centers of Georgia, Inc. is to provide the highest quality comprehensive healthcare services which are culturally and linguistically appropriate, accessible and affordable, focusing on prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment to residents and at-risk populations in the West End and Greater Atlanta areas. For more information, visit FHCGA at www.fhcga.org.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

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