As a national leader in health equity, Boston Medical Center is home to medical firsts that meet the needs of our patients—70% of whom are people of color and many living below the poverty line. Thanks to the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, BMC will soon be rolling out a first-of-its-kind mobile care unit to help close health outcome gaps linked to race and poverty.
Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales, BMC Vice President of Mission Thea James, MD, and President of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation Steve Pagliuca were among the first to get a glimpse of the Curbside Care unit at the Boston Celtics game on November 30.
Thanks to a generous $1.5 million commitment, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation will fully fund Curbside Care for three years, and it is expected to hit the streets in January 2023.
Curbside Care brings care straight to the doorstep of BMC mothers and newborns; historically, 40% of whom don’t attend postpartum appointments because of lack of transportation or child care. Pregnant and post-partum patients and their newborns under six weeks of age who receive care at BMC can soon receive 2-4 visits right outside of their home.
Up to 2,100 patients a year will benefit from a host of services delivered by BMC Pediatrics and Midwifery Service:
- newborn care
- lactation support
- post-partum depression screening and connection to primary care and behavioral health service
- weekly virtual support group facilitated by a peri-partum therapist
- blood pressure screening and monitoring
- food, diapers, thermometers, hygiene products, breast pumps, and more
- counseling on preconception health and birth spacing
- chronic disease management and referral
Together, we aim to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, improve rates of sustained lactation, improve identification and treatment for post-partum depression, reduce unintended pregnancies, and reduce fragmentation in care across hospital divisions and departments.
The Curbside Care program is part of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation’s ‘Celtics United for Social Justice’ which is a 10-year, $25 million commitment to address systematic racial inequities in New England.
