El Centro de Salud Maple CIty recibe subvención para expandir los servicios de salud para madres y niños

ELKHART — The Community Foundation of Elkhart County has granted Maple City

Health Care Center an award of $150,000 in the Spring 2023 award cycle to expand its

high quality maternal and child health services.

The award will help Maple City Health Care Center serve more women and young

children who have traditionally had a difficult time accessing high quality health

services because of income, insurance status, language, low trust of health systems or

other barriers to care.

Elkhart County has had persistently high maternal and infant mortality for years,

especially among underprivileged groups and those with low access to quality health

care, according to organizers. High quality prenatal and pediatric care are linked to

improved birthweight, lower infant and child mortality, higher rates of breastfeeding,

and more children reaching developmental milestones and being ready for

kindergarten when the time comes.

According to the Indiana Primary Health Care Association, Maple City Health Care

Center has the highest quality scores of any Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)in Indiana, including in women’s and children’s care, while also having the highest

uninsured patient rate, highest percent of patients identifying as Hispanic, and highest

percent non-English speaking patient mix.

“If we are going to meet our community’s needs in this critical area of maternal and

child health, we need to expand our capacity and welcome new patients to Maple

City,” said Paul Shetler Fast, executive director of Maple City Health Care Center.

The Community Foundation’s support will allow Maple City Health Care Center to

increase clinical staffing to be able to serve more mothers and children. They plan to

hire an additional Family Medicine Physician with Obstetrics specialty, a Nurse

Practitioner with Pediatric specialty, and a Certified Nurse Midwife as well as restart

and expand bilingual pregnancy and early childhood development groups.

“We believe that Maple City Health Care Center is another excellent example of our

mission to improve the quality of life in Elkhart County by inspiring generosity,” said

Pete McCown, president of the Community Foundation. “We are pleased with what

they’ve presented to us, and we expect them to be successful in their efforts. Maple

City Health Care Center is another vital link in the chain of non-profit entities that are

improving our quality of life in Elkhart County.”

“So much of what we do in pregnancy care at Maple City Health Care is unique,” said

Anna Grady, OB physician lead at Maple City Health Care Center. “Our midwifery

program has the only hospital-privileged midwives at Goshen Hospital. Our Centering

Pregnancy program is the only one in Elkhart County and one of the only bilingual ones

in the country. These are critical evidence-based interventions to reduce maternal and

infant health disparities. I’m excited we are growing and will be welcoming new staff

and patients.”