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Louisville hospital receiving funds to improve racial equity in health

Kentucky is getting part of $1.1 million to fight racial biases by providing bias training, PPE, and training to better equip couples for parenthood.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville Hospital is getting $60,000 to help its staff fight racial bias in the hospital system. The donation is part of a larger grant valued at over $1 million that's heading to 16 states and Washington, D.C. with the goal of closing the gap in medical health equity.

“One of the challenges we often don’t like to talk about are the implicit biases that exist," said Leon Lamoreaux, President of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield Medicaid. 

“It’s a rather comprehensive grant working together with those in the community that are dedicated to try and help this population," he said.

The grant comes from a partnership with The Anthem Foundation and March of Dimes. According to statistics provided by March of Dimes, Kentucky needs the help. 

March of Dimes says black women are 30% more likely to have premature babies. The organization gave Kentucky an overall preterm birth grade of D-. The grant aims to fix that. 

“It’s a triple win - everybody wins. The mom and the baby, the provider, and everybody wins frankly because we got healthy life into the world," said Lamoreaux. 

The grant aims to bridge the equity gap in many ways. The money will go to many avenues such as bias training, PPE, and training to better equip couples for parenthood.

Contact reporter Daniel Sechtin at dsechtin@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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