Healthy Acadia to Launch New PROSPER Initiative
For Immediate Release Please
Release Date: November 8, 2021
Program Contact: Caroline Bloss, caroline.bloss@healthyacadia.org
Media Contact: Tracey Carlson, tracey@healthyacadia.org or (207) 667-7171 Ext. 112
Healthy Acadia to Launch New PROSPER Initiative
Healthy Acadia is one of 61 organizations nationwide chosen to receive funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in support of an initiative designed to improve outcomes for women with substance use disorder who are pregnant or parenting across Downeast Maine. The PROSPER Initiative (Pre/Peri/Post-natal and Parenting Resources and Other Support Systems for Pregnant Women/Families Engaging in Recovery) will be designed, implemented, and delivered across Hancock and Washington counties, Maine, by a collaborative partnership comprising of Healthy Acadia, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital, Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital, Mount Desert Island Hospital, Down East Community Hospital, Maine Families, and Pleasant Point Health Center.
Working together, PROSPER partners will improve care coordination among partnering hospitals and other sites while also creating a Community Health Navigation Team to provide compassionate, person-centered navigation, mentoring, guidance, education, advocacy, referrals and more to clients across the service area. Further, the initiative will provide training to professionals, families, and community members to increase understanding and awareness of the specific needs of pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorder.
"PROSPER will provide a safe space for its clients to feel deeply cared for, connected, and heard. This environment, along with the commitment of our clinical partners to help improve care will have reverberating effects across our region,” says PROSPER Initiative Director Caroline Bloss.
The grant from HRSA is part of an overall $8.9 million awarded to organizations serving in rural communities across the United States to deliver health services to the underserved and those who may have historically suffered from poorer health outcomes, health disparities, and other inequities.
For more information, please reach out to Caroline Bloss at caroline.bloss@healthyacadia.org.
To learn more or to make a referral, please visit https://www.healthyacadia.org/spr-prosper.
Healthy Acadia is a 501(C)(3) community health organization building vibrant communities and making it easier for all people to lead healthy lives throughout Washington and Hancock counties. This year, Healthy Acadia invites you to join them in celebrating 20 years of empowering people and organizations to build healthy communities together. For more information about Healthy Acadia’s community health initiatives, visit healthyacadia.org.
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