Georgia DPH seeks $8.9M to expand Home Visiting Program to improve maternal, infant health

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) presented its yearly budget requests to the members of the House Appropriations Health Subcommittee Monday.

Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of DPH, said that half of the department’s funds come from federal sources, and half of its staff is federally funded.

The department requested to expand its Home Visiting Program, which provides free services for expectant mothers from pregnancy until the first year of their baby’s life. The program is part of an initiative to lower maternal and infant mortality in the state.

“This program really evolved out of the needs identified at a time when many of you came to me saying, ‘What can we do to address maternal mortality in this state?’” Toomey said. “Many of the things that we are doing within the home visiting really address mother and baby, which was the intention.”

The program currently reaches 75 counties.Toomey said the goal is to reach all 82 counties that do not have an OB/GYN. She said 108 counties in Georgia do not have a delivery hospital, and according to the DPH website, 60% of pregnancy-related deaths in Georgia were preventable.

The program costs about $112,000 per county to implement, and the department requested an additional $8.9 million to fund the additional counties, Toomey said.

“It has such tremendous outcomes already, but it really is very cost effective. It’s a bargain if you look at those outcomes,” she said.

State Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, the House minority leader, asked how the recent changes to vaccine recommendations could impact infant health in the state.

Toomey said she worked on the initial trials for the Hepatitis B vaccine and feels strongly about its safety. She assured the representatives that the vaccine is still available even though the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention panel changed its recommendation.

“Our job now is to ensure every parent who is confronted with the shared decision-making about this vaccine gets accurate information about its efficacy, the necessity in their particular case and the safety of it,” she said. 

The committee heard from other public health agencies in the state about their funding needs and the work they have done this year. The following groups presented at the hearing.

• Georgia Department of Public Health
• Georgia Department of Community Health
• Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
• Office of Health Strategy
• Composite Medical Board
• Georgia Dental Board
• Georgia Pharmacy Board
• Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency
• Georgia Trauma Commission