Access to healthcare during pregnancy and the first year of a baby's life, can have a lifelong impact on that individual’s health.

However, expectant and new moms in rural southwest Montana often travel over 80 miles for care on remote roads subject to severe weather.

Because of the time and effort required, many women delay or go without adequate prenatal or postpartum care.

Access to healthcare is one of Intermountain’s four health priorities across all regions.

Our new program, Maternal Health Connection, aims to improve maternal and newborn health by bringing healthcare to the patients.

This innovative access model is made possible by a $3.9 million grant awarded to us by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Maternal Health Connection provides hybrid telehealth, remote patient monitoring (RPM), and in-person care for expectant women up to one year postpartum with a range of services from regular checkups to specialist consultations to doula services to parenting education.

It also offers 24/7 emergency nursing support through RPM for instant access to expert care for peace of mind and less delays in seeking care when needed.

Dr. Ibrahim Hammad, a Maternal and Fetal Medicine provider at Intermountain Health said, “Pregnancy can be a difficult time in a woman's life, and current economic and geographic challenges do not make it simpler. It's part of our responsibility as healthcare professionals not only to provide counseling and treatment in clinics and hospitals but also to reach out to our patients in an effort to ease their burden. This program is designed to bring maternal care to the patient.”

In addition to medical services, Maternal Health Connection offers virtual health and wellness services and parenting resources like genetic counseling, midwifery, mental health, nutrition, and a menu of classes through Primary Children’s Hospital, some of which are incentivized by earning baby essentials – swaddle blanket, portable crib, car seat.

Launched in September 2023, our program currently serves 10% of the of the babies born in the area.

The tremendous growth is credit to strong collaboration with the Healthy Granite County Network, Department of Health, Montana Healthy Families, Healthy Mother’s Healthy Babies, local Critical Access Centers, local providers, and grassroot marketing efforts connecting people to the program.

Krystal Richards, the Project Director of the Maternal Health Connection said, “Our mission is to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in rural Montana. We know these families have no choice but to travel to Butte, Anaconda, and Missoula to receive care. I’m excited to bring choice to these families and ultimately develop a financially viable model that can be replicated in any maternal health desert.”

As part of the program, Intermountain hired its first doula, who provides two prenatal and postpartum visits and supports women during delivery.

Richards said, “It's been amazing to review patient cases with this collaborative range of caregivers with diverse expertise. Each one offers something crucial to care for these patients and it allows us to remove barriers and provide them with the care they deserve."

As the program grows, so do the resources. Community health nurses are being trained as certified lactation consultants to offer in-person and virtual lactation consultations closer to home.

By summer 2024, Maternal Health Connection will add four new services: access to urgent care, virtual pain management, virtual behavioral health, and virtual primary care.

We aim to grow the program over the course of the four-year grant to ensure a sustainable model and help all women and their newborns live their healthiest lives, regardless of their rural location.

This project is made possible by HRSA Grant Award #6 UK9RH46983‐01‐02. Intermountain Health is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution and is committed to helping people live the healthiest lives possible.