Seven community based organizations and 10 individuals in the U.P. will share in just over $67,000 from Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions, the lead organization of the Region 1 Perinatal Quality Collaborative. The grants are aimed at enhancing birth outcomes, reducing health disparities and addressing the cause of those disparities. The Gogebic-Ontonagon Great Start Collaborative is one of the organizations that will share in the grant. Requests for proposals were made through one time funding received from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Katrina Keough, Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions Assistant Director and Region 1 Perinatal Collaborative Lead says that funding will provide essential services to those mothers and their families, with a community centered approach that honors the process.