A $1.1 million commitment from Monumental Sports & Entertainment will expand maternal and child health programs in Washington, D.C., signaling how targeted funding can address persistent health inequities tied to race and class.
The five-year partnership, beginning in 2024, supports MedStar Health's Safe Babies Safe Moms program and the MedStar Health Kids Mobile Medical Clinic. Both serve predominantly low-income communities in Wards 6 and 7.
Safe Babies Safe Moms connects pregnant women to prenatal care while addressing barriers to accessing it. The program provides nutrition support, parenting education, mental health resources, transportation assistance, housing support and legal services. Women enrolled in the program experience measurably lower rates of low birthweight and preterm births compared to similar populations without access to the program, according to MedStar data.
The program's reach begins before pregnancy and extends until a child turns three, a critical window when early intervention compounds benefits over time.
The MSE investment will also expand the Mother-Baby Intensive Outpatient program, which targets pregnant and postpartum mothers experiencing mood and anxiety disorders. Perinatal mental health remains one of healthcare's forgotten crises, particularly for Black women, who experience postpartum depression at higher rates than white women but receive diagnosis and treatment at significantly lower rates.
The kids mobile clinic has operated for more than three decades, providing primary care to roughly 800 children annually in Wards 6 and 7 without charging families. Care teams screen for social determinants of health, including food insecurity, housing instability and education gaps.
Two years ago, MSE helped fund a second wellbeing unit dedicated to these screenings, featuring state-of-the-art capabilities and exterior branding with local sports teams' logos.
Since 2019, MSE and the Leonsis family have invested more than $13 million across MedStar Health initiatives. The consistency of funding allows programs to plan beyond immediate budget cycles, hire and retain quality staff, and expand based on proven results.
The challenge now is scale. Safe Babies Safe Moms and the mobile clinic reach a fraction of D.C. residents who could benefit. Expanding these programs requires institutional support from health systems and city government, along with recognition that such services should be standard care rather than charitable extras.
