West Virginia became the first state to receive newborn-support kits in a national program expansion launched Oct. 9 at WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s in Morgantown, according to the Office of the Governor of West Virginia.
The governor’s office said Gov. Patrick Morrisey and Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Tom Engels announced the expansion of the Newborn Essentials Support Toolkit, or NEST, program. About 2,000 kits are expected to be delivered to West Virginia families during this phase, the office said.
Each kit contains more than 20 newborn and postpartum essentials, including diapers, wipes, an infant thermometer, postpartum recovery and breastfeeding supplies, and a blood-pressure monitor, according to the announcement. It also includes information about postpartum health, infant safety and care, feeding and nutrition, and programs and resources for parents and babies, the governor’s office said.
The office said NEST is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative involving public and private partners to support mothers and babies around childbirth. Morrisey and Engels toured the hospital and took part in a roundtable with patients and health care leaders about needs during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, according to the announcement.
West Virginia is investing about $200 million in federal Rural Health Transformation funding to expand access to care, strengthen the health care workforce and improve health outcomes statewide, the governor’s office said.