Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Essentia health team up for maternity program

Essentia Health, funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, has introduced a new maternity program that the organizations say ensure expecting parents in northern Minnesota receive the comprehensive care needed to birth healthier babies.

Blue Cross has provided Essentia with a $280,000 contribution to establish, implement, and advance the program that aims to reduce NICU admissions, reduce births at less than 37 weeks, reduce low birthweights, reduce c-sections due to pregnancy complications, and increase percentage of mothers breastfeeding at discharge.

Two registered nurse (RN) care coordinators act as dedicated points of contact for expecting parents in the program

“It’s actually connecting patients to not only community organizations, but also county, state, federal funding,” explained RN Care Coordinator Jennifer Baumann. “So, its basically filling the gaps to provide care to make sure that they have everything that they need and they’re connected to the resources and educated about the resources.”

To learn more about Essentia Health, visit www.essentiahealth.org. For more information about Blue Cross, visit www.bluecrossmn.com.