Greenville, N.C – ECU Health and the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (ECU)’s Maternal Outreach Through Telehealth for Rural Sites (MOTHeRS) Project received the 2025 Psychiatric Services Achievement Silver Award from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), recognizing its outstanding contributions to maternal mental health care in rural and underserved communities across eastern North Carolina.
Launched to combat widening maternal health disparities, the MOTHeRS Project delivers multidisciplinary care through a combination of both in-person and telehealth. It integrates maternal-fetal medicine, psychiatry, nutrition, diabetes education and behavioral health services directly into rural OBGYN clinics. This approach has saved pregnant patients more than 414,800 miles of travel, facilitated over 2,600 patient visits including behavioral health interventions and screened more than 41,000 patients for food insecurity.
“We are deeply honored by this national recognition, which highlights the impact of the MOTHeRS Project in delivering evidence-based, multidisciplinary care to mothers in rural and underserved communities,” said Dr. Sy Saeed, director of the ECU Center for Telepsychiatry, founding executive director of the North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP) and the MOTHeRS Project. “The MOTHeRS Project proved to be an effective model for reaching mothers where they are physically, emotionally and mentally to help improve their overall well-being during pregnancy and after. This is a model built on collaboration and compassion and one we hope will inspire similar efforts in rural communities across the country and around the world.”
The APA’s Psychiatric Services Achievement Awards, established in 1949, recognize model programs that demonstrate innovation, collaborative care and commitment to mental health equity. The MOTHeRS Project was selected for its transformative impact on maternal mental health. Though maternal mental health conditions affect up to 12 percent of women postpartum, many go untreated due to stigma, lack of access and shortages of specialists. The MOTHeRS Project’s integrative telehealth model fills that gap, ensuring mothers can receive compassionate, timely and high-quality care close to home.
“Receiving this award is a reflection of ECU Health and the Brody School of Medicine’s shared commitment to academic medicine and creating new ways to address the complex social and structural barriers that affect maternal health,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, CEO of ECU Health and dean of the Brody School of Medicine. “Through efforts like the MOTHeRS Project, we are fulfilling our mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. This recognition reinforces our vision of being the national model for rural health care and advancing health equity for mothers and their babies across the country. I am proud of the team behind this important and innovative work.”
MOTHeRS Project was supported by a generous gift of $1,250,000 to the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University from the United Health Foundation to expand access to health care and improve health outcomes for North Carolina’s mothers and babies.