United Health Foundation Donates $750,000 to Support Maternal Health Needs of Georgia Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The United Health Foundation has donated $750,000 to the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia to improve access to health care and health outcomes for Georgia’s mothers and babies. The funding will support increased access to services, including virtual perinatal case management, regional maternal mental health support groups and distribution of postpartum supply kits.

This effort is part of UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) more than $100 million commitment to fight COVID-19, support impacted communities and address emerging health care issues related to the pandemic. Grant partnerships to address maternal health are being announced today with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies in Georgia as well as East Carolina University in North Carolina. Both states are experiencing increasing rates of COVID-19 infections and have historically high rates of maternal and infant mortality.

“Georgia already has some of the poorest maternal and infant health outcomes in the country, and COVID-19 is exacerbating these serious challenges,” said Junior Harewood, chief executive officer, UnitedHealthcare of Georgia and Alabama. “During these historic times, our partnership with the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition will help ensure that pregnant and postpartum women and their families have greater access to information, support and care they need.”

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of all developed countries and is the only industrialized nation with a rising rate. Georgia ranked 49^th in the rate of maternal mortality compared to all U.S. states, with the rate of maternal mortality 1.6 times higher for Black women than white women in the state, according to America’s Health Rankings 2019 Health of Women and Children Report. Georgia also ranked 45^th in infant mortality in the same report.

“The governor, the girls and I are very grateful to the United Health Foundation for their generous donation to the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition and their support of Georgia families,” said Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp. “During these unprecedented times, it is important to limit potential exposure to COVID-19, but it is also critical to receive needed health care. Through this effort, expectant and postpartum mothers now have better access to much needed medical care.”