Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

Community doulas hired through the Chicago Birthworks Collective will offer culturally responsive, holistic prenatal, birth, and postpartum support to women enrolled in the Community Maternal Health Care program. By integrating doula care within a federally qualified health center, this initiative aims to enhance maternal and neonatal outcomes, reduce health disparities, and improve access to comprehensive, community-based maternal healthcare services. The CMHC program positions community doulas as essential partners in closing maternal health gaps and ensuring that women receive the respectful, high-quality care they deserve.

This purchase is exempt from the usual selection processes of the Procurement Code because the procurement expenditure is for performing sponsored research and other sponsored activities under grants and contracts funded by the sponsor or by sources other than State appropriations. (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b)(8)) To improve rates of maternal mortality among women on the Southside of Chicago. Mile Square Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center, has enhanced a pre-existing prenatal care program to deliver a community-based and culturally adapted model of care. Mile Square Health Center is committed to promoting patient-centered care with a positive impact on quality of life for mothers, babies, and their families.