ATLANTA — Georgia’s Public Health Department says they are working hard to expand a program aimed at bringing down the level of maternal and infant deaths in the state.
Georgia’s public health commissioner says her department has had a successful first couple of years for its Home Visit Program.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health website, the “Maternal, Infant, and Early Child Hood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program supports home visiting for expectant and new parents with children up to kindergarten entry age who live in communities that are at-risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes.”
This year, 15 additional counties will be added to the program and Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey says they are targeting moms at a higher risk for negative outcomes, but they’re also thinking about infant health, too.
“Mothers and babies go together,” Toomey says. “A healthy mother is going to have a health pregnancy.”
Mothers in 75 Georgia counties now have access to the free program, but Toomey hopes they are able to expand to cover all of the state next year.
