Delivering Change: Healthy Families – Healthy Communities was formed in 2012 to reduce the infant mortality rate in Geary County and improve the health of Geary County families. this centralized and coordinated community collaborative began with grassroots funding from the Geary Community Healthcare Foundation, local businesses, community civic organizations and the Kansas Chapter of the March of Dimes.

Since 2014, Delivering Change has been backed by a five-year, $3.5 million federal Health Start Initiative award. The project period for that initiative concludes on March 31, 2019. Officials announced on Wednesday that even though the Healthy Start funding will be drawing to a close, Delivering Change has secured community and state level partners to ensure that Delivering Change programs and services will continue.

“We know that the Delivering Change approach and model of care is effective. The reduction of our county’s infant mortality rate by 50% in five years, improvement in our county’s breastfeeding initiation rates, and improved care coordination, across disciplines, are just a few of our successes,” said Jill Nelson, Delivering Change Program Coordinator.

Nelson noted that Delivering Change is the first model of its kind in Kansas and that they will continue to work with local and state leaders to expand and build upon current programs and services, and continue to share our knowledge with other communities and state entities.

Delivering Change: Healthy Families-Healthy Communities uses a four-pronged approach to improve the health of Geary County families by focusing on women’s health ( including preconception health, prenatal care and access, prenatal education postpartum care and interconception health ) : promoting and supporting breastfeeding; improving infant and child health and development; and engaging, educating and empowering fathers through the Geared Up Dads initiative.