North Carolina Community Health Center Association (NCCHCA)--in partnership with Nurture NC and with funding support from The Leon Levine Foundation (TLLF)--this week has awarded more than $1 million to six rural North Carolina community health centers to combat maternity deserts. It is part of the $2.8 million that TLLF has committed for a newly launched statewide initiative: Perinatal Access to Care and Health in North Carolina (PATCH-NC).

PATCH-NC expands access to high-quality maternity care in rural North Carolina through targeted investments in counties with no access or low access to critically important prenatal and postpartum care. Such shortages contribute to delayed prenatal care, increased travel burdens, and persistent rural disparities in maternal and infant outcomes.