NHSA's mission is to be our nation's voice in providing leadership and advocacy for health equity services and interventions that improve birth outcomes and family wellbeing.

On Monday, a year will have passed since we lost a champion for women and children, a trailblazer in the public health field and most importantly a dear friend. Maribeth Badura was often known as the “matriarch” of Healthy Start. Holding the position as the Director of the Division of Healthy Start under the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Maribeth was dedicated to her work of ensuring communities had resources and services that were easily accessible and affordable.

She was passionate about helping women be healthy throughout their lives. Most of all she was committed to ensuring babies reached not just their first birthday but all of their birthdays. Although Maribeth passed away last October, her memory continues to live on in each of us who had the fortunate experience to work alongside of her. It is largely because of her that we celebrate 20 years of the federal Healthy Start initiative this year. Through our work in communities across the United States, we strive to keep her legacy at the forefront of our minds and in our hearts.

We honor her today for everything she did on behalf of our most vulnerable women and children. NHSA encourages you to share your favorite Maribeth story or memory here on our blog.

You can also honor Maribeth’s memory by contributing to the Maribeth Badura Memorial Fund. This fund will enable the Association to grant scholarships to individuals interested in pursuing the field of nursing, public health or similar. Recipients will be selected from Healthy Start communities.

Checks can be made payable to: The Maribeth Badura Memorial Fund and mailed to the NHSA office at 1411 K Street, NW, Suite 1350, Washington, DC 20005. If you would like to make a contribution via credit card, please visit our website, click the DONATE button and indicate MB Fund.