News Releases

BMO Harris Bank Announces Multi-year Grant to United Way of Greater Milwaukee to Fight Infant Mortality Crisis
$750,000 donation supports the new United Way Healthy Birth Initiative

MILWAUKEE, WI. (September 10, 2012) - BMO Harris Bank announced today the donation of $750,000 over three years to United Way of Greater Milwaukee to help combat Milwaukee's infant mortality crisis.

As a result of this donation, United Way of Greater Milwaukee is awarding a $150,000 grant, to be funded over a three-year cycle, to Progressive Community Health Centers for its Obstetrics Medical Home Program.

The grant will allow Progressive to hire a full time women's health registered nurse (RN) to assist with care coordination activities for its prenatal patients.  Previously, Progressive did not have the resources for an RN to be dedicated to women's health.

Additionally, funds from BMO Harris Bank will allow United Way to expand its Healthy Birth Initiative and hire a project director with expertise in maternal-child health. United Way will also convene a group of diverse constituents who will assist in the development of the strategies that will lead to improvements in birth outcomes.

"As an organization focused on improving the quality of life for those in our communities, we wanted to provide this funding for the health efforts of United Way," said Brad Chapin, Executive Vice President, Retail Banking, BMO Harris Bank. "Infa nt mortality is a critical indicator of the overall health of a community. Our support of United Way creates the capacity needed to extend their successful Teen Pregnancy Prevention model to Infant Mortality."

"BMO Harris Bank's commitment to addressing the infant mortality crisis will allow us to build capacity and collaborate with our community partners, corporate leaders and health care providers to take this community-wide effort to scale," said Mary Lou Young, president and CEO, United Way of Greater Milwaukee. "This is an example of how corporate leaders can change the health of our community. We invite others to get involved."
"It takes good community partners and a wide array of strategies to address infant mortality," Mayor Tom Barrett said. "I'm grateful BMO Harris Bank has joined our efforts to reduce infant mortality in Milwaukee.  These funds will help expectant mothers receive good quality health care.   At the same time, we will continue our focus on the social determinants of infant mortality."    

Milwaukee is the 7th worst city for infant mortality among the 53 largest cities in the United States, according to the 2007 Big Cities Health Inventory. It also has the highest gap in black-to-white infant deaths.

In Milwaukee, 100 children died before their first birthdays in 2011. Many of these deaths were preventable.

Through the Healthy Birth Initiative, United Way and BMO Harris Bank are committed to helping reach the community-wide goal set by Mayor Tom Barrett to reduce Milwaukee's infant mortality rate by 10% by 2017 through:

• Raising awareness about the issue by revealing how racial and ethnic birth outcome disparities affect all sectors of society,
• Identifying and funding evidence-based programs that will impact the root causes and result in positive birth outcomes, and
• Measuring the collective impact of funded programs.

For more information on Unite d Way's Healthy Birth Initiative, visit UnitedWayMilwaukee.org/InfantMortality

About BMO Harris Bank
Based in Chicago, BMO Harris Bank N.A. provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through over 650 branches and approximately 1,350 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. Deposit and loan products and services provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris Bank^SM is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with 1,600 branches, and a retail deposit base of approximately $180 billion.

About United Way of Greater Milwaukee: United Way of Greater Milwaukee advances the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all. Our focus is on education, income and health – the building blocks for a good quality of life. Learn more about our community-changing strategies and goals at:
http://www.unitedwaymilwaukee.org/Newsroom.htm

Join us. Advocate for change at:
http://twitter.com/UnitedWayMilw
http://www.facebook.com/UnitedWayGreaterMilwaukee.

About United Way Worldwide:
United Way is a national network of more than 1,300 local organizations that work to create lasting positive changes in communities and people's lives by addressing the underlying causes of the most significant local issues. While local United Ways tackle issues based on local needs, common areas of focus include helping children and youth succeed, improving access to health care, promoting self-sufficiency, and strengthening fami lies. For more information about United Way, please visit: www.unitedway.org.