WEST DES MOINES, Iowa–UnityPoint Health has received a $212,500 grant from Iowa’s Centers of Excellence pilot program to improve access to high quality, obstetric (OB) services for expectant mothers and their babies in rural east central Iowa.
UnityPoint Health was one of the first healthcare organizations to receive a grant from the Centers of Excellence program. The program, which started in December 2021, aims to encourage innovation and collaboration among regional health care providers and access to maternal care for expectant mothers and their babies in Iowa.
“There is a continued need for accessible and affordable health care in rural Iowa,” said Dr. Diana Kaufman, medical director of the Women’s Health Service Line for UnityPoint Health.
“UnityPoint Health is committed to providing excellent obstetrical care to all of our families, including our patients in rural communities. We understand there is a unique need in the rural setting, and we are committed to working with those communities to improve the health and wellbeing of our expectant moms and their unborn babies.”
UnityPoint Health’s Women’s Health Service Line helps inform, implement and support women’s health strategies and initiatives across the organization. The initial focus of the grant will be to establish Iowa’s framework for maternity services in Iowa’s rural population with specific focus on Iowa, Marshall, Poweshiek, and Tama counties with UnityPoint Health – Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) providing instrumental support as a delivering hospital in Poweshiek county.
