The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness received a federal grant today for $6.3 million for its Healthy Start initiative that will fund the program for the next five years. Congressman John Yarmuth, D-3rd district, presented the health department with its first installment of $1,275,000, which will be allocated annually by the U.S. Health Resources Services Administration. Joined by Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and Metro Health and Wellness director, Dr. Adewale Troutman, he said it was an example of the federal and local government working together.

“Earlier this year and with my support, Congress increased funding for Healthy Start to a total of more than $102 million,” Yarmuth said. “I’m delighted that Louisville Healhty Start is receiving funding from this program to continue its vital services to mothers and their infants in our community.”

Established in 1998, Healthy Start works to reduce infant mortality in neighborhoods where the rates are more than double Metro Louisville as a whole. The program serves over 400 families each year and provides participants with case management, health education and preventive health services from pregnancy to the child’s second birthday.

Though limitied to three Neighborhood Place locations in west Louisville Dr. Troutman says the additional federal funding will allow the health department to expand the services into the Newburg neighborhood beginning July 1, but Healthy Start will continue to branch out to other parts of the city.

“This new funding gives us resources to continue to help babies and their families during pregnancy and the critical first two years of life,” he says. “It also lets us continue to close the disparate rates of infant mortality between minority populations and the overall population.”

Since it was established in Louisville, Healthy Start has helped more than 6,000 families and is one of the few local programs that had no infant deaths among participants from 2002 to 2005.