One of the largest grants ever administered by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi will be used to tackle a major health issue, the rate of low birth-weight babies in the Magnolia State.
The program “Right! Kellogg Foundation grant to the Hernando-based Community Foundation.
“It’s certainly the largest grant we’ve ever received, other than the $10 million Maddox Foundation grant,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Tom Pittman of a major challenge grant the nonprofit umbrella organization received several years ago.
“Our Community Foundation appreciates this support to improve the health of babies in our region,” Pittman said.
The initiative will work to increase the breast-feeding rates of extremely low birth-weight babies utilizing a multi-agency approach to ensure better outcomes and affect systemic change. This project will address breast-feeding initiation for the very low birth-weight babies admitted to the Level III neonatal care unit at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
The target geographic areas for this project are five counties in the Delta having the highest number of extremely low and very low birth-weight babies, which are Bolivar, Coahoma, Leflore, Sunflower and Washington. Kellogg Foundation.
The Hernando-based Community Foundation serves an 11-county region in Northwest Mississippi, including the northern Delta counties of Tunica and DeSoto County, the western part of which is not immune to infant health issues.
However, healthier counties like DeSoto, continue to set an example of how healthier citizens contribute to a healthier region, economically as well as physically.
According to county health rankings compiled by the Mississippi Department of Health through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, DeSoto County registered an 8.4 percent low birth-weight rate, while Mississippi had an overall rate of 12.1 percent. DeSoto County led the state as being its healthiest county.
Sannie Snell, formerly with the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, will serve as program director.
“I appreciate the opportunity to work with the Community Foundation and to assist in leading a collaborative effort with various agencies and organizations throughout the state to make a difference in birth outcomes and improve the lives of vulnerable children throughout the Delta,” Snell said.
Community Foundation officials are hopeful the grant will make a difference in the lives of Mississippi mothers and their children.
“The Community Foundation is proud to accept this grant and provide much needed support for premature babies throughout the Delta,” said Scott Hollis, chairman of the Community Foundation.
