(ABC 6 News) — Olmsted County Public Health Services’ (OCPHS) Family Home Visiting program and Cradle 2 Career have won the 2024 Maternal and Child Health Betty Hubbard Leadership Award at the community level.

This award, created in 1990 by the Minnesota Department of Health, was named after Hubbard, who worked to improve health for women and children. 

The award celebrates the teamwork between OCPHS and Cradle 2 Career to improve care for mothers and infants. Over the past 10 years, studies have shown that Olmsted County lags behind the rest of Minnesota when it comes to prenatal care. Getting sufficient prenatal care helps ensure babies are born healthy. This includes starting provider or home visits early and going to recommended provider appointments. 

OCPHS and Cradle 2 Career collaborated to help groups facing the most significant challenges. These groups were identified through Olmsted County’s Community Health Improvement Plan. According to the report, Black and African American pregnant people, pregnant people aged 15-19, and pregnant people who did not finish high school experience the greatest disparities in prenatal care. 

By listening to families and community members, OCPHS and Cradle 2 Career learned what was causing barriers to receiving care: transportation, a lack of trust in providers, and trouble finding and understanding resources. To help solve these problems, the team worked with the community to identify solutions and provide care that respects different cultures. The recommendations identified include finding solutions around: 

• Transportation. 
• Relationships between families and professional support. 
• Education and access to information. 
• Emotion support groups. 
• Resource navigators. 
• Trauma-informed care. 
• Culturally informed and responsive care. 

“We are so honored to win this award,” Cradle 2 Career Network Facilitator Winnie Godi said. “This project shows how working together can help us reach our goals. But the real heroes are the community members who shared their stories with us. Their ideas helped us find ways to make things better.” 

“Receiving this award is a great honor. We are proud of our collaboration with Cradle 2 Career and the impact it has had,” said OCPHS Healthy Children and Families Manager Sarah Stevens. “By working together and learning from those most impacted, we are making important strides to help pregnant people receive adequate prenatal care and the support they need.” 

State Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) congratulated Olmsted County Public Health Services and Cradle 2 Career on receiving the award via a press release, saying:

“Olmsted County Public Health and Cradle 2 Career have truly led the way in fostering better outcomes for mothers and children in our community,” Senator Nelson said. “The hard work of their teams, along with the invaluable insights from families in challenging situations, has made an inspiring difference. This award celebrates the impact of their dedicated, collaborative efforts, and I couldn’t be prouder of the progress they have achieved.”

Senator Nelson, who authored the original Cradle 2 Career legislation, highlighted the program’s critical role in removing barriers to prenatal care and supporting the unique needs of each family.

“I am honored to have championed the original legislation that laid the groundwork for Rochester’s Cradle 2 Career. This program is a fantastic example of the power of community-centered solutions that directly address real challenges and families in need,” Nelson said via the press release.