Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation Announces New Grants to Spur Innovation and Advance Health Equity

Hillman Emergent Innovation Program Supports Early Stage Nursing-Driven Innovation with a Focus on Health Equity


NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation's Emergent Innovation Program (HEI) is announcing five new grants of $50,000 to support early stage, nursing-driven interventions that seek to improve health and health equity outcomes for marginalized populations.   

“Nursing has a long history of developing creative solutions to some of healthcare’s – and society’s – most challenging problems,” said Ahrin Mishan, Executive Director of the Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation. “The bold work of this year’s grantees represents a clear continuation of that legacy.”

Latest HEI Grants Take on Stigma, Isolation, and Lack of Trust   
Addressing the health inequities of groups and communities who contend with discrimination and indifference, the 2021 HEI awards will help to launch a diverse set of programs that aim to create more effective, equitable, and culturally congruent models of care.

The 2021 HEI grant recipients are: 

  • Closing the Breastfeeding Gap: Using Telelactation to Provide Equitable Breastfeeding Support to African American Mothers
    Addressing a national shortage of African American lactation professionals and low rates of breastfeeding among African American women, this project will provide peer counselors for immediate support in the hospital and Zoom-based telelactation consultation in the post-partum period as needed.
    Principal Investigator: Karen Robinson, PhD, RN, CNM, Marquette University College of Nursing

  • Melanated Maternity Community Care
    This team of nurse scientists and nurse-midwives will develop training for Black certified nursing assistants and provide three key services: assessing postpartum warning signs of major complications; linking to wraparound services and referrals; and providing basic support and education for postpartum recovery to Black women in their homes. 
    Principal Investigator: Karie Stewart, APN, MSN, MPH, CNM, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing
  • Mental Health Challenges in the Asian American Community Beyond COVID-19
    This program will identify new, more effective ways of reducing stigma and increasing utilization of mental health services in the Asian American community. 
    Principal Investigator: Shu-Hua Wang, MD, MPH&TM, PharmD, FIDSA, The Ohio State University, Global One Health Initiative
  • Promoting Health in African American Populations through Partnership with Barbershops and Wearable Activity Trackers
    This barbershop-based initiative brings together nurses, community partners, and wearable devices to promote the self-management of lifelong healthy behaviors. 
    Principal Investigator: Lisa Anne Bove, DNP, RN-BC, University of North Carolina Wilmington School of Nursing
  • A Youth-Centered Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Program for Immigrant Communities 
    This initiative seeks to prevent intimate partner violence in the Arab community by involving Arab youth in promoting early intervention, mobilizing community change, and promoting healthy relationships. 
    Principal Investigator: Sarah Abboud, PhD, RN, University of Illinois at Chicago

For full details on the HEI program, please click here.  

ABOUT THE RITA & ALEX HILLMAN FOUNDATION
The Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of patients, families, and communities through nursing-driven innovation. To this end, the Foundation cultivates nurse leaders, supports nursing research, and promotes new models of care that are critical to making the U.S. health care system more patient-centered, accessible, equitable, and affordable. For more information, please visit www.rahf.org.

Media Contact
Takouhi Mosoian, the Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation (innovationsincare@rahf.org)