October 30, 2014

Manchin and Rockefeller Announce Nearly $1.2 Million to Protect and Improve the Health of West Virginia Families

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller announced $1,191,254 in federal funding to protect and improve the health of women, children and families in West Virginia. The funding will be received by the West Virginia State Department of Health and Human Resource’s Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health (OMCFH). The goal of the OMCFH is to establish partnerships with qualified health centers, physicians, local health departments and clinics to ensure all West Virginians have access to quality medical services. 

In addition to ensuring accessible, quality care, the OMCFH will use the funding for early intervention programs to identify newborns at risk of death or those who are suffering from developmental delays or complications. Mothers and children who are screened will receive the necessary medical care. The funding will also be used to support the Right from the Start Program, which provides comprehensive services to low-income women, children and infants from birth to age one, as well as the Parent Network Specialists System and Adolescent Health program, which both provide necessary support for families and children into adolescent years.

“Making sure all West Virginia families have access to quality medical services is so important, especially our mothers and children who face health complications and require special health needs,” Senator Manchin said. “This grant will allow the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to provide our health centers and facilities across the state with the essential resources to care for at-risk mothers and their infants and children in need.”

“Throughout my career, I have always supported programs aimed at giving kids a healthy start in life through access to quality prenatal care and children’s health services,” said Rockefeller. “This funding gives West Virginia the ability to keep up its maternal and child health services, which are critical to the overall health and well-being of our state’s children.”

The two-year funding comes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program. This program serves 44 million American women and children and it is the only federal program that is solely dedicated to the health of women, children and families.

For more information on the West Virginia programs supported by the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, please click here.

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