RAHC Picked For State Pilot Program
When a pregnant woman in Rockbridge County goes into labor, her nearest hospital is nearly an hour away. If she doesn’t have a car, or money for gas, that distance is more than an inconvenience. It can be a matter of life and death.
That reality is what Rockbridge Area Health Center (RAHC) has been working to change. And now, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has recognized that work in a significant way.
In late April, VDH named RAHC one of only four organizations selected statewide for Virginia’s first-ever Perinatal Health Hubs pilot program. Lexington joins Williamsburg, Abingdon and Harrisonburg as community anchors in this new statefunded model of maternal and infant care.
The Rockbridge area, said a RAHC spokesperson, carries a designation that few residents may know about: it is classified by health officials as a maternal health desert.
There is no local birthing hospital.
Infant mortality, preterm birth, and late prenatal care rates in the region run above state averages. And across RAHC’s 17-zip-code service area, stretching from Augusta County north to Botetourt County south to Allegheny County west, many families face the same compounding barriers: rural geography, limited transportation, and lower incomes.
The Strong Starts Perinatal Health Hub, RAHC’s new coordinated care program is RAHC’s most direct response yet to the gap in maternal and infant care.
The Strong Starts Hub is designed to address the full range of needs a mother faces before, during, and after birth. While mothers continue to deliver at partner birthing hospitals in Fishersville, Roanoke or Charlottesville, the hub ensures they are never navigating that journey alone, said the RAHC spokesperson. Care is coordinated in one place, by one connected team, so families have consistent, wraparound support from early pregnancy through delivery and beyond, without piecing together multiple providers across multiple locations.
Alongside that medical team, a dedicated care coordinator, community health worker, and doula support each mother through her entire pregnancy and her baby’s first year. Services include prenatal classes, lactation consultation, behavioral health support, home visits, connections to community resources, and essential supplies for both mom and baby.
The goal is to close gaps in pre- and post-natal care by connecting providers, hospitals, and community organizations into a seamless network of support.
- Only four organizations were selected for the pilot program from a competitive pool of over 40 applicants statewide. A review committee of public and private partners evaluated proposals on organizational capacity, community engagement, project quality, data planning, and long-term sustainability. RAHC is the only Federally Qualified Health Center chosen, which will serve as a model for other health centers throughout the state.
Virginia State Commissioner Dr. Cameron Webb described the initiative’s purpose plainly: “Every family in Virginia deserves strong support throughout pregnancy and during that critical first year for mom and baby. These Perinatal Health Hubs will help us work with our partners to ensure families get the comprehensive, culturally responsive care they need.” - Laura Becker serves as Strong Starts Perinatal Health Hub program manager. An international board certified lactation consultant with six years of experience leading clinical programs, Becker has spent her career focused on maternal and infant health outcomes.
“In a region where the nearest hospital is nearly an hour away, the barriers facing pregnant women and new mothers are real and serious,” Becker said. “What we’re building with Strong Starts is a team that stands alongside each mother from day one, so she has consistent support through pregnancy, childbirth, and those first months. Every family in Rockbridge deserves that kind of support.”
RAHC Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Sheridan sees the hub as a natural extension of what the health center has always done. “Laura’s leadership is exactly what this program needs,” Sheridan said. “Her experience, combined with the integrated care we already provide on-site, puts us in a strong position to make a real difference for mothers and babies in this community.”
Dr. Mike Henry, RAHC’s medical director, points to what the hub means from a clinical standpoint.
“As a primary care physician, I see firsthand what happens when families don’t have consistent support during pregnancy and those early months. The Strong Starts Hub changes that equation for our patients. Having a care coordinator, community health worker and doula working alongside our medical team means we can address the whole picture, not just the clinical piece. For a region without a local birthing hospital, that kind of coordinated care isn’t a luxury. It’s essential.” - RAHC began in December 1992 as the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic, founded by community volunteers who saw that uninsured and lowincome residents had no reliable access to primary care. Over the following decades, the organization grew steadily, adding dental services, behavioral health, mobile medical and dental units, school-based health centers, and a veterans care program, before becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2014.
The Strong Starts Perinatal Health Hub is a proud addition to the full range of programs RAHC has built over three decades to serve this community. Being one of four hubs selected statewide reflects that long commitment and points toward what the organization continues to build, said the RAHC spokesperson.
For RAHC, the hub reflects a core conviction: that where you live, what you earn, or whether you have a car should never determine the quality of care you receive during pregnancy or the first year of your child’s life, the spokesperson said.
The Strong Starts Perinatal Health Hub is open to all expectant mothers and their babies in the region, whether or not they are current RAHC patients. RAHC works in coordination with area providers and birthing hospitals to ensure that mothers and babies receive the care and support they need.
For more information about the Strong Starts Perinatal Health Hub, call Laura Becker at (540) 464-8700.
