The Wellmark Foundation Funds Postpartum Depression Education Program in Central Iowa

October 8, 2007

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Contact:
Angela Feig
515.245.4551
feigab@wellmark.com

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A $66,183 grant from The Wellmark Foundation will allow Visiting Nurse Services to create a postpartum depression education program for women in central Iowa.

The Postpartum Depression Partnership will be created and implemented in cooperation with four hospitals and clinics located in Des Moines, says Jen Van Liew, president and chief executive officer of Visiting Nurse Services. “The partnership will provide training to hospital staff, screening and assessment of high-risk mothers, group and individual counseling, and supportive listening and problem-solving visits for women who decline counseling options,” says Van Liew.

According to Van Liew, partnering hospitals include Broadlawns Medical Center, Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines. The partnership will target women who reside in Polk County and deliver babies at these hospitals, which totals more than 9,600 women each year. For more information on the Postpartum Depression Partnership , contact Jen Van Liew at jenv@vnsdm.org or (515) 558-9941.

The Wellmark Foundation has provided more than $12.77 million to fund 374 health-related grants in Iowa and South Dakota since 1997, including a total of $1,854,175 to date in 2007. “The Wellmark Foundation works to improve the health of Iowans and South Dakotans,” says Matthew McGarvey, director of The Wellmark Foundation. “The Postpartum Depression Partnership will provide valuable information and training to health professionals, and much needed mental health services and support to thousands of women each year.”