The emme coalition: Analyzing Program Results

A signature investment of the Community Foundation’s Fund for Women & Girls has completed its formal funding phase.

A recently released evaluation report shows strong returns from the emme coalition, a Bridgeport-based initiative that connected more than a thousand women and girls with quality health care and holistic tools to achieve long-term success. A hundred participants also received more intensive services through emme, including case management with community health workers and doula support.

Key program results include:

• 100% of students graduated from high school
• 100% of expectant mothers had healthy full-term births
• 92% of new moms reported greater confidence in parenting

emme programming also delivered strong results related to improved mental health, with 85% of participants reported feeling better equipped to handle stress and trauma. Meanwhile, 51% of participants consistently maintained low scores (0-4) on the PHQ-9 Scale for depression, signifying sustained mental well-being.

emme, named after the acronym for empowerment, mindfulness, motivation and education, was delivered in partnership with Optimus Health Care. The program served women and girls ages 12-49, empowering them to lead healthy lives and pursue their life goals through education and coaching that supported their mental, physical, social, and financial well-being.

Beyond the exceptional results generated through emme, the program also advanced leadership as community health workers navigated systems with empathy and cultural fluency. Their use of Social Determinants of Health screenings led Optimus to integrate the screenings into their own procedures.

Though formal grantmaking has ended, the program continues to make an impact as findings guide women’s health strategy at Optimus.

A senior leader at Optimus emphasized that a team-based approach to care incorporating community health workers not only enhanced the quality of care for patients, but also significantly increased staff retention and reduced staff burnout.

Moving forward, Optimus aims to focus on three key areas built off the work accomplished by the emme coalition, including utilizing Obstetrics Navigators; developing an organization-wide team-based care model to support clinicians; and providing trauma-informed care training for all clinicians.

Learn more about the Fund for Women & Girls’ next signature investment, the Black Maternal Health Initiative.