Iowa Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded the Iowa Community HUB the contract to serve as Iowa’s Doula Technical Assistance Provider, expanding statewide support for doulas and strengthening Iowa’s maternal health workforce. The Iowa Community HUB was awarded $25,000 for an initial 6-month planning and preparation phase and will receive $50,000 annually for an additional five years.

The Iowa Community HUB serves as a statewide connector between healthcare, public health, and social service systems. Through this partnership, the HUB, together with Mahogany Doula Services, HealthTeamWorks, and Iowa State University’s Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, will deliver comprehensive training, technical assistance, and resources for doulas and organizations working in maternal health.

The HUB will focus on developing or identifying existing training content to build workforce capacity, support reimbursement and practice readiness and strengthen business operations and sustainability for doulas. Outreach, community engagement and healthcare collaboration will be key focus areas in establishing training and tools to support doulas as the project kicks off.

This partnership will ensure that doulas across Iowa have the support, training, and resources they need to provide high-quality, culturally responsive care. Strengthening the doula workforce advances Iowa HHS’s goal of improving maternal health outcomes statewide.