The Lowndes County Board of Health was awarded a grant by Healthcare Georgia Foundation in 2014 to continue their work to improve birth outcomes among the “highest of high risk” African American women in Lowndes County through the Baby LUV (Lowndes Unique Victories) program at Lowndes County Health Department.

“We were assessed on standards set by the foundation for continuation of the grant into 2015,” says Tiffany Vinson, RN, Perinatal Executive Director. “We are thrilled to announce we passed the evaluation assessment and will be able to continue our work in this community with new goals to be implemented.”

The Baby LUV program began in 2008 due to a significantly high infant mortality rate in Lowndes County. Due to the success of the program, it has been a model for other programs throughout the state of Georgia. “With this grant and a partnership with a team from Emory, we will diligently work on goals set for the year, such as breast feeding initiation rates, and working closely with other programs to refer all pregnant women to their services,” states Vinson.

In December, Healthcare Georgia Foundation announced twenty-one grants totaling $1,561,600. The fourth-quarter grants complete the Foundation’s 2014 awards, which totaled $3,936,150. Additionally, the Foundation funded seventy-one organizations and programs benefitting the health of Georgians in 2014, the highest number of annual awards since the Foundation first began its grantmaking in 2002.

For more information on the Baby LUV program call Lowndes County Health Department at 333-5257 or visit www.southhealthdistrict.com/babyluv.