At Wednesday's Fulton Rotary Club meeting, Rotarians heard from Macey Shinn about the Maternal Child Health Services Program (MCH).
Shinn works with the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), and is also with the Bureau of Community Health and Wellness.
She is the Region F Maternal Child Health Service Program Coordinator.
Shinn said there are 115 local health departments across the state. She added that DHSS currently partners with 111 of the 115 departments.
"Really the four that don't partner with us is more just capacity reasons, especially following the pandemic, just staffing and things like that," Shinn said.
DHSS has contracts with the local public health agencies (LPHAs) to build community-based systems, promote optimal health, reduce health disparities for the MCH population, and other goals, Shinn said.
The contract specifically focus on children age o-18 and women of child-bearing age (15-44). Shinn added that the contract is entirely funded by Title V MCH Block Grant.
The contract began in fiscal year 2022, and will run for five years.
"We're still relatively early in the contract, and health departments are already doing lots of great things and have more to do," Shinn said.
DHSS has three priority areas for the grant. The areas are based on a needs assessment completed by the state. The priority areas include state, national and local.
The priority area Callaway County is focusing on is preconception, prenatal and postpartum care for women of child-bearing age.
She said her role as the Region F Maternal Child Health Service Program Coordinator is to help with MCH contracts and be involved with the LPHAs.
Shinn shared with Rotarians some of the projects LPHAs are doing through the grant.
The Callaway County Health Department is "working to decrease the number of women with a recent live birth who experience frequent postpartum depressive symptoms," Shinn said.