For Immediate Release: May 31, 2022
For more information contact:
Kelly Cannon
Kelly.Cannon@BlueKC.com
O: (816) 395-3711
KANSAS CITY, MO. (May 31, 2022)—Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC), in honor of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, is proud to assist families across the region through a $40,000 financial pledge to Kansas City-based Uzazi Village and Promise 1000. These local organizations share Blue KC’s mission of helping mothers, parents, and infants achieve their best health.
- Uzazi Village – A nonprofit organization dedicated to decreasing maternal and infant health inequity among Black and Brown communities through education, support, and advocacy – will receive $20,000 from Blue KC to directly aid their efforts and initiatives.
- Promise 1000 – A joint initiative of the United Way of Greater Kansas City, Children's Mercy Kansas City and Health Forward Foundation – connects families experiencing low income and other life stressors to agencies with special in-home training to optimize the first 1,000 days of life to ensure that vulnerable infants and toddlers thrive. Promise 1000 will receive a $20,000 donation from Blue KC to help fund its mission.
Maternal mental health conditions typically occur during the perinatal period, which includes the prenatal period (duration of a pregnancy) and the postpartum period (initial year after a baby’s birth). Up to one in five women will suffer from a maternal mental health condition, according to the CDC.
“As a mother of four, including twins, I’m very familiar with the stresses pregnancy can bring. Maternal mental health can pose serious challenges to the overall health of families,” said Erin Stucky, Blue KC President and CEO. “At Blue KC, it’s our mission to help mothers, parents and infants in every way we can. We are committed to supporting community initiatives and investing in organizations striving for equitable health opportunities and sustainable positive outcomes for all families.”
Beyond its $40,000 gift in support of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, Blue KC has committed $150,000 to support parental and child health through a partnership with the March of Dimes. In addition, Blue KC – in partnership with BioNexus KC – will award a $50,000 Health Outcomes Research Grant aimed at supporting innovative insights and intervention research to address inequities in care and outcome improvements in maternal, birthing parent and child health, specifically for people of color.
Blue KC members can learn more about available mental health resources at mindfulbluekc.com.
Resources are also available via the following:
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.