ConnectRx Wisconsin improves Black birth outcomes

For the past eight years, the Dane County Health Council (DCHC) and the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (FFBWW) have led the Saving Our Babies Initiative, a cross-sector collaboration aimed at eliminating the Black low-infant birth weight crisis and broadly improving Black maternal and child health. Together with ConnectRx Wisconsin (CRx), an innovative care coordination model launched in 2022, the work is demonstrating measurable gains.

To date, the ConnectRx program has conducted more than 18,500 screenings, generated 4,525 referrals to community resources, and supported 515 births, including 332 with doula care. Among participants, 94% of births reach optimal gestational age and 93% of babies are born at a healthy birth weight, outcomes that now exceed countywide averages. These outcomes provide one of the strongest early demonstrations that community-driven, coordinated care works.

Findings from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Reproductive Equity Action Lab, analyzing more than 31,000 births between 2022 and 2024, including more than 350 births among ConnectRx Wisconsin participants, confirm that the program is reaching families with the highest needs and driving measurable improvements in outcomes.

Key findings from the evaluation

• ConnectRx Wisconsin is reaching families with the highest need. On average, CRx participants navigate three or more major social challenges and are connected to multiple community resources to address needs such as financial strain, housing instability and food insecurity.
• Early connection and sustained participation change outcomes. Pregnant patients who enrolled in CRx in the first trimester saw significantly better outcomes, and preterm birth rates were cut by more than half compared to Black birthing people not enrolled in the program.
• Longer participation is linked to stronger outcomes. Findings also suggest that longer participation, six to seven months or longer, is linked to stronger outcomes, reinforcing the importance of enrolling early and staying connected throughout pregnancy and postpartum.

Ongoing needs and challenges

• Need is outpacing capacity. As referrals increased, wait times for ConnectRx grew, especially in 2023, reinforcing the need to expand staffing capacity so families can enroll early enough to benefit fully from the program.
• This work is only beginning. Some findings are not yet statistically significant because of small sample sizes and the relative infancy of the program. Generational change requires long-term commitment, and clearer trends are expected as the program is sustained.
• Saving Our Babies and ConnectRx Wisconsin are one piece of the solution. Even with these strategies and solutions in place, broader inequities persist, underscoring the need to address systemic racism and structural barriers that shape birth outcomes.

Trust, representation and coordinated care

Partners point to a clear driver of progress: a model intentionally built on trust, access, representation and the integration of both clinical and community care. ConnectRx Wisconsin recruits, trains and supports doulas and community health workers (CHWs) who reflect the lived experiences of the families they serve, many of whom are former participants. This culturally aligned workforce, working in tandem with clinical staff, is described as essential to rebuilding trust where systems have historically fallen short, strengthening engagement and ensuring continuity of care.

“ConnectRx Wisconsin shows what is possible when healthcare systems and community partners work in true alignment,” said Eric Thornton, president of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Madison, an anchor member organization of the Dane County Health Council. “By meeting families where they are and addressing the full range of needs impacting health, we are not only improving outcomes—we are restoring trust and dignity, and advancing equity in care.”

Together, the findings point to what partners say must come next: expanding capacity so more families can enroll early, sustaining and investing in doulas and CHWs, and deepening partnerships between healthcare systems and community organizations. While the path forward is described as achievable, partners emphasize that scaling ConnectRx Wisconsin’s impact will require sustained, multi-year investment and philanthropic support to grow capacity, strengthen workforce infrastructure and ensure early access.

“ConnectRx is one of Wisconsin’s most impactful efforts to undo longstanding birth disparities for Black mothers and babies — built by systems and community working as true partners,” said Lisa M. Peyton, CEO and president of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. “The question is no longer if it works. It’s whether we will invest at the scale required to reach every family who needs it.”