Shannon Monnat, the Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, has received a $75,817 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation for the project “Implementing and Evaluating the Efficacy of a New Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Plan of Safe Care.” Monnat is the principal investigator on the project; Alexandra Punch, associate director of Maxwell’s Lerner Center, is a co-investigator.

The project is designed to improve education for health care providers, concerning Plans of Safe Care (POSC) for mothers with addiction and for babies who suffered opioid exposure prior to their birth. The project will develop and implement workshops, targeting health care providers who are likely to work with mothers who require a POSC. It will also collect data from hospitals concerning the implementation of POSCs in order to improve policies and practices in Central New York.

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a philanthropic organization that was founded in 2018 to improve the health outcomes of vulnerable New Yorkers by eliminating barriers to health care and bridging gaps in health services for these communities. The foundation promotes, sponsors, and supports various initiatives, through up to $150 million in grant funding. It serves New Yorkers in every region of the state, regardless of personal faith background.

Monnat, who is also an associate professor of sociology and the co-director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab in Maxwell’s Aging Studies Institute, is an expert in social demography, spatial difference in morbidity and mortality, and the social determinants of health and health disparities. She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed pieces and has presented to a wide range of audiences including the United Nations, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Aspen Institute. In addition, she has consulted with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Monnat’s research has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN, among others.

Punch joined the Lerner Center last year, after more than two years as the director of drug user health with ACR Health in Syracuse, where she helped develop and implement innovative treatment practices for addressing opioid dependence. Punch also chairs the Harm Reduction Subcommittee for the Onondaga County Drug Task Force and serves as a board member for the nonprofit Road2RecoveryCNY. 

03/05/20