County program offers at-home care to newborns, parents

Jodi Wahba on March 21, 2023

By Emmett Gartner egartner@newspost.com
Mar 15, 2023

When a nurse from Frederick Health visited new mother Jamie Hodge and her weeks-old daughter Mallory, the nurse asked Hodge questions she hadn’t heard much since giving birth.

“How are you doing? What do you need?” the nurse, Gillian Carey, asked.

Hodge said those questions were common during her pregnancy, but waned as attention shifted to her newborn.

“It kind of makes you feel human again,” Hodge said. “It’s that moment where I matter. … And I think new moms kind of forget that.”

The program that dispatched Carey to Hodge’s home in Frederick — Family Connects Frederick County — was launched in January. It offers a home visit by a registered nurse to any family with a baby delivered at Frederick Health Hospital.

In 2022, Frederick County allocated $8 million of federal funding it received through the American Recovery Plan Act to create the program. Frederick Health, the county’s largest health care provider, was in charge of its implementation.

The foundations of the program were created by a task force within the local Health Care Coalition and leadership from Pilar Olivo, a liaison for the county’s Office of Children and Families.

Olivo and the task force have worked for years to raise awareness and reduce the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in Frederick County. The new Family Connects program has aided in that initiative.

Family Connects International

Staff photo by Katina Zentz. Jamie Hodge holds her infant daughter, Mallory, in their home’s doorway on Tuesday. Hodge has used Frederick Health’s at-home service, which includes visits from nurses and well-being assessments.

Frederick Health spokesperson Sara Jackson wrote in an email that 11 nurses are assigned to the program and 337 families have scheduled a home visit since Jan. 1.

That accounts for more than 80% of Frederick County families who have had a baby at Frederick Health in that time span, according to Jackson.

During visits, primary caregivers like Hodge and their infants get a health and well-being assessment and additional resources on lactation, nutrition and child care.

For Hodge, one of the most beneficial aspects of the program was the support Carey provided after the visit.

Hodge said Carey has been a pivotal source in answering questions and supporting her as she navigates being a mother for the first time.

“Any questions I had, no matter how insignificant I thought they were, she would answer them,” Hodge said.

That included questions about when to move up in diaper size for Mallory, concerns Hodge and her husband, Michael Hodge, had about Mallory’s weight gain, and general questions about formula.

Hodge said that although she and her husband have a robust family network to help with Mallory, it was especially beneficial to have a more objective expert in Carey to provide initial guidance.

“I knew that her being part of the hospital, she’s a mandated reporter to the state,” Hodge said. “So, if she found anything wrong with the baby, she was going to call. … I would want somebody to make sure the baby’s safe, no matter what the circumstances.”

For Carey, Family Connects has offered her an enriching professional experience through face-to-face time with families.

“I’ve never felt more fulfilled as a nurse in 12 years than I have sitting down with these mothers, having a conversation and supporting them through some of the hardest days that they will have with their newborn,” Carey said.

With that understanding of difficulty, Carey is sure to ask about the parents’ well being, like she did with the Hodges.

Jamie Hodge said it was when Carey asked how her husband was doing that she realized that question, too, was often overlooked.

“Her question stuck with me the entire time that she was here and even after she left,” Hodge said. “Nobody thinks to ask the spouse or the partner how they’re doing.”

Since Carey’s visit, Hodge has seen Mallory develop a unique personality, intrigued by trees in the family’s backyard and the deep pitch of male voices.

“She loves the deep voice,” Hodge said. “She is very good with her eyesight and her tracking, so if you’re talking, she will look for you. … And she loves looking out the window and seeing the trees move.”

Hodge said the prioritization Carey and others have provided her and her mental health have helped her be the best possible parent she can be to Mallory.

“You have to take care of yourself, your mental health, because if you’re not, that baby is not going to have the best version of you,” Hodge said.

 

Original article: Click Here

In North Carolina, a Commitment to Each and Every Newborn

Jodi Wahba on July 19, 2022

Here in North Carolina and across the country, women are grappling with the effects of a fallen Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, and how the new federal ruling will affect them. A heated debate here in North Carolina has added further fuel to the fire, as conversations in the State House today and votes at the polls this fall will further affect the future for parents and their newborns in North Carolina and beyond.

In these crucial days and discussions, as so much about women’s health and healthcare feels uncertain, one certainty remains: Newborns need incredible support. And between bleary-eyed feeding sessions, exhaustion, exhilaration and uncertainty, families with newborns need support, too. Some might argue, a community of support.

For North Carolinians, the support is already available — and expanding.

At a time when women’s rights are threatened as never before, and parents must navigate new federal and state laws that will challenge their ability to seek basic healthcare and maternal care services, Family Connects International, whose home-base is in the RTP area of North Carolina, is doubling down on mothers, parents, and most importantly, newborns.

For more than a decade, our team at Family Connects International has been connecting local nurses with newborns and their families to provide the vital care and community connections new families need in their earliest days at home post-partum. What started as a pilot initiative within Duke University now exists today as a standalone nonprofit, with expanded services and support to implement the Family Connects (FC) Model across the United States. Our goal is to ensure that each and every newborn and their family — including foster, adoptive, and bereaved parents — has access to essential connections and resources needed for equitable outcomes, with a model that is rooted in universal access.

Why expand now? Because what we’ve seen on the pages of this site and across local news is that even in our presumably “first-world” country, new parents have varied access to healthcare services. Despite being in the most resourced of communities, some hospitals and clinics may still be under-resourced and understaffed. Dr. Debra Best, pediatrician and FCI’s Medical Director, says it comes down to the basics. She routinely hears from families that their FC in-home nurse listened and supported them, while giving them great resources, whatever the need was. These acts are just as simple as they are transformative.

In service to this community, and as we consider what North Carolinian families need most, we will build upon our evidence-based nurse-home visiting program, offered to all families of newborns in participating communities, and we will advocate for public policy that builds and sustains equitable systems of community care.

Newborns need support, and we are steadfast in our commitment to work with local agencies and providers to develop comprehensive, community care systems that support optimal maternal-child health and wellbeing.

In these great days of uncertainty, as parents question if they will find the support they need, it is essential that our elected leaders, our community leaders, and our neighbors don’t lose sight of our future in the process.

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FCI Launches as an Independent Nonprofit

Jodi Wahba on July 19, 2022

Family Connects International Launches as Standalone Nonprofit, Emphasizes Commitment to Build Local Communities of Support for Families with Newborns

Durham, NC- After a 14-year partnership at Duke University, Family Connects International (FCI) has launched as an independent nonprofit. The transition from a home nurse-visiting pilot initiative to a nonprofit organization enables it to expand services to reach more families with newborns and to provide a higher level of support to community partners across the U.S. that implement the evidence-based Family Connects Model.   

Family Connects International connects mothers and families with newborns to nurses trained in the Family Connects (FC) Model, who in turn, connect them to community care systems for optimal maternal-child health and support during their earliest days at home.  

The FC Model was established in 2008 through a partnership with the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy, the Center for Child & Family Health, and the Durham County Health Department. It was designed to support whole-person, integrated health for all families of newborns. FCI nurses visit with families at their home to assess newborns, mothers, and other household family members to discuss concrete next steps to address opportunities and concerns, including seeking immediate medical care when necessary. The model is in various stages of exploring, planning, implementation, and certification in communities across 18 states, where it aims to connect with at least 80 percent of the newborn families.  

“The passion and commitment of our staff alongside the rigorous research and refinement of the Family Connects (FC) Model among our partners at Duke University over [the years] has established the FC as a highly successful and evidence-based program,” said Executive Director, Sherika Hill, PhD, MHA. “As an independent organization, we can scale the FC Model to reach more families in communities by providing enhanced services to partners on how to implement the Model through tailored programming, evaluation, and policy engagement.” 

Participation in local Family Connects programming is voluntary for families with newborns as well as members of community advisory boards that help to maximize connections within local community care systems. FCI supports community partners with five main services:    

  • Adherence to the Family Connects evidence-based model with standardized practices, 
  • A free nurse-home visiting program offered to all families of newborns in a participating community, 
  • A community alignment framework and tool to develop and support a network of community-based resources, 
  • Local, state and national policy engagement to support sustainability of local programming, and  
  • Continuous quality improvement driven by transparent data and reporting.  

“Our goal at Family Connects International is to ensure that each and every newborn and their family—including foster, adoptive, and bereaved parents—has access to essential connections needed for equitable outcomes,” said Dr. Hill. “We will deliver on that goal by expanding access to the FC Model, rooted in a universal approach for each and every newborn.”  

-more- 

About Family Connects International  

Family Connects International (FCI) is committed to strengthening bonds within families of newborns and linking them directly to supportive community care resources. Our vision is a world with equitable outcomes for each and every newborn. FCI works to expand access to Family Connects, an evidence-based model that provides vital in-home clinical care by nurses and referrals to local supports for newborns and their family members. The model is designed to support optimal maternal-child health and advance equitable outcomes, while promoting better aligned community care systems. FCI trains community partners across the U.S. on how to implement tailored programming, evaluation, and policy engagement. We invite you to join us and learn more about what this exciting news means for our organization, community partners, foundation supporters, and our community at large. Visit www.familyconnects.org and follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn for updates. Let’s Connect! 

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