The Connecticut Health Foundation has awarded Griffin Hospital a $50,000 grant to develop a new model for delivering maternal health care that addresses inequities and targets the leading causes of complications and deaths during and after pregnancy. The effort will expand on work by the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center to reduce maternal mortality through community-based collaboration and evidence-based care.

The United States continues to experience higher maternal mortality rates than comparable nations, with significant racial disparities. Black women nationally are more than three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, and in Connecticut, Black women are twice as likely to experience life-threatening complications. The project will help advance the state’s ongoing efforts to improve maternal outcomes and health equity.

The Connecticut Health Foundation has made maternal health a core priority, investing in initiatives that test and refine care delivery models. A 2024 grant to Hartford Hospital supported policy and training reforms that integrated doulas into patient care teams. The foundation will publish a new blueprint for maternal health equity in Connecticut next month to guide future grantmaking and policy.

“We appreciate Griffin Hospital’s commitment to advancing maternal health equity by working with community members to find ways to improve care in ways that are effective, research-based, and sustainable,” said Tiffany Donelson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation.

The grant is part of $742,000 in recent statewide awards supporting access, coverage, and health improvement initiatives across Connecticut.