25 Weeks of Gratitude: Jefferson Regional Medical Center
Grant Transforms Maternal Care in Southeast Arkansas
Sarah Lehr
Jessica Mazzanti knew there was a need for improved maternal care in southeast Arkansas when she applied for a grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas.
But what she didn’t know at the time was that she would be one of the beneficiaries of the grant, which has transformed the maternal care unit at Jefferson Regional Medical Center.
Jessica, a grant writer and volunteer coordinator in the hospital’s marketing department, gave birth to her first child in late 2025 and has experienced the benefits of the maternal health grant firsthand. But before she thought about expanding her family, she decided to apply for the grant after the hospital noticed an increase in patients coming to the emergency department with positive pregnancy tests but no care plan.
Jefferson Regional is one of the few hospitals in southeast Arkansas with a maternal care unit, and rural patients who have limited access to care often travel a great distance to give birth at the hospital.
“This funding really added a special element to our maternal program that was lacking. I’m proud of it. We don’t know what we would have done without the Blue & You Foundation funding. It helped revamp our maternal care,” Jessica said, adding that more than 1,000 mothers and infants across southeast Arkansas have benefitted from the grant since the program began in early 2025.
The grant from the Blue & You Foundation focuses on increasing access and improving maternal and infant care, beginning with an online education program called Birthly that offers live, interactive childbirth classes. Expectant mothers receive a code for the course when they first come to the hospital for care. Since January 2025, more than 60 mothers-to-be have completed almost 200 instructional hours on topics ranging from prenatal bootcamp to breastfeeding and mental health during and after pregnancy.
The grant also funded postpartum care, including training the entire staff of the maternal health unit as lactation consultants. This means that a trained professional is always available to help a new mom with breastfeeding. Three staff members received additional certification, allowing them to train other staff in the future.
According to the hospital’s discharge survey, 62% of patients said they planned to breastfeed exclusively, almost double the number before the lactation training.
The babies receive something special, too. Every newborn receives a Halo sleep sack to help promote safer sleep practices for babies. In 2025, 228 sleep sacks were given away.
New parents who are struggling financially don’t often have access to all the things a baby needs, Jessica said. Providing sleep sacks increases the number of infants who have a safe sleep environment.
“It’s been a really popular part of our maternal program,” Jessica said.
The grant also focuses on a new mother’s postpartum journey. Upon discharge, new moms receive a free one-year membership to the Jefferson Regional Wellness Center, which offers classes three times a week taught by instructors trained as prenatal and postnatal fitness specialists. In addition, one of the four certified instructors is always on site when the center is open. To date, 165 memberships have been used.
“It encouraged me to work out more, and I felt better,” Jessica said, recalling that at times there would be 10 women in the class, each at different stages in their post-partum journey. The instructors are trained to help each person, depending on what exercises are available to them at that time.
Beyond the physical health benefits, the classes provide a sense of community for the women going through a similar experience. Moms can bring their children to the classes, and a breastfeeding area and changing table were added at the gym.
When someone attends a class, they receive a wellness journal to help track their physical and emotional well-being, and each class ends with a reflection time.
“A lot of people don’t even factor in the mental health side of having a baby. It’s very overwhelming, especially when you have social media and TikTok (telling you what to do). You feel like it’s your only educational source.”
Jessica said implementing this program while she was pregnant gave her a unique perspective on what new mothers need. “It allowed me to take it a step further and develop the program. This program had so many parts, and it keeps growing. As I was growing my baby, I was growing this program.”
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Blue & You Foundation, 25 Weeks of Gratitude spotlights 25 stories of Arkansans whose lives have been impacted by Foundation-funded work.
*The Blue & You Foundation was established in 2001 through an initial gift from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Since its inception, the Foundation’s financial base has grown through wise and prudent investment strategies. This has enabled the foundation to support its mission by making grants funded by the interest earned on those investments.