August 2009
A few years ago, when registered nurse Liz Dewar's client asked her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, Dewar had to laugh. “This is a girl who used to ditch my phone calls when we first met,” says Dewar, smiling and shaking her head.
The teenager, just a few weeks pregnant for the first time, met Dewar after a friend told her she needed help. Her friend referred her to the Nurse-Family Partnership program (NFP), a nurse-led, healthcare program for at-risk first-time moms provided by the Cincinnati Health Department for over 10 years.
“We were off to a rocky start,” says Dewar. But the nurse persisted and met the teenager for lunch three times to answer questions and tell her what the program could offer – parenting and healthcare, goals coaching, and, most importantly, someone a new, unsure mom could trust. The teenager was reluctant, at first, but she graduated from the program after two years of home visits.
With an overall infant mortality rate two times higher than the national average and three times higher for African-Americans mothers, Nurse-Family Partnership is critically important to Cincinnati's health. According to the World Health Organization, rates of infant mortality directly correlate to the health of a community. And with infant mortality rates this high, Cincinnati doesn't just have the sniffles, it has pneumonia.
But by providing services to mothers and babies, the Nurse-Family Partnership model, under the Every Child Succeeds (ECS) funding umbrella, can impact these troubling statistics. NFP has been shown to be effective through three long-term randomized, controlled trials [Elmira 1977, Memphis 1988, Denver 1994].
The trials studied moms who participated in the program versus moms who didn't. The results showed that when compared to other first-time, at-risk moms, those who are enrolled in the NFP have healthier pregnancies, fewer premature births and fewer low birth-weight babies. They also have higher rates of employment and improved economic self-sufficiency. The infants had fewer childhood injuries and significant improvements in childhood readiness, language cognition and behavioral regulation.
The strength of this evidence has been enough to garner attention from President Obama who has proposed federal funding for home visitation programs. Beginning prenatally, our Cincinnati Health Department (CHD) staff of three nurses and two supervisors serve over 100 first-time mothers and their children in Cincinnati and Hamilton County and make over 1,500 home visits a year.
These efforts contribute to the CHD’s Infant Vitality effort which includes an Infant Mortality rate of 7.1 for CHD clients which is in line with the national average of 6.7. NFP is part of a comprehensive Infant Vitality Initiative at the CHD which includes Every Child Succeeds, Healthy Start, Women Infant Child the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review and Quality Improvement efforts in our OB/GYN centers.
Dewar's client now has two sons. She never misses their doctor's visits. They are up to date on shots. She takes them to baseball and soccer practice. After completing a nursing assistant program, she left her job working at a fast food restaurant and now works in a doctor's office. “She changed from being flighty to being a responsible mom,” says Dewar. “She went from being self-absorbed to putting her children's needs first.”
“I have come across many young ladies who in the beginning of the program had no sense of direction, but because they want more for their baby they return to school, get degrees and decent jobs," says Doris Nelson-Frierson, the program's supervisor.
The program is voluntary and can last from pregnancy to the child’s second birthday. “Few changes are immediate, but we are in it for the long haul, and the difference made lasts a lifetime,” says Nelson-Frierson.
Dewar's client got married after the program ended, but still wanted Dewar as a bridesmaid. “She knew she could count on me,” Dewar says, chuckling. “But I told her, that's going to look pretty strange – I am old enough to be your mother!”
For more information about the Nurse Family Partnership Program please call the Cincinnati Health Department at 352-1423.
A few years ago, when registered nurse Liz Dewar's client asked her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, Dewar had to laugh. “This is a girl who used to ditch my phone calls when we first met,” says Dewar, smiling and shaking her head.
The teenager, just a few weeks pregnant for the first time, met Dewar after a friend told her she needed help. Her friend referred her to the Nurse-Family Partnership program (NFP), a nurse-led, healthcare program for at-risk first-time moms provided by the Cincinnati Health Department for over 10 years.
“We were off to a rocky start,” says Dewar. But the nurse persisted and met the teenager for lunch three times to answer questions and tell her what the program could offer – parenting and healthcare, goals coaching, and, most importantly, someone a new, unsure mom could trust. The teenager was reluctant, at first, but she graduated from the program after two years of home visits.
With an overall infant mortality rate two times higher than the national average and three times higher for African-Americans mothers, Nurse-Family Partnership is critically important to Cincinnati's health. According to the World Health Organization, rates of infant mortality directly correlate to the health of a community. And with infant mortality rates this high, Cincinnati doesn't just have the sniffles, it has pneumonia.
But by providing services to mothers and babies, the Nurse-Family Partnership model, under the Every Child Succeeds (ECS) funding umbrella, can impact these troubling statistics. NFP has been shown to be effective through three long-term randomized, controlled trials [Elmira 1977, Memphis 1988, Denver 1994].
The trials studied moms who participated in the program versus moms who didn't. The results showed that when compared to other first-time, at-risk moms, those who are enrolled in the NFP have healthier pregnancies, fewer premature births and fewer low birth-weight babies. They also have higher rates of employment and improved economic self-sufficiency. The infants had fewer childhood injuries and significant improvements in childhood readiness, language cognition and behavioral regulation.
The strength of this evidence has been enough to garner attention from President Obama who has proposed federal funding for home visitation programs. Beginning prenatally, our Cincinnati Health Department (CHD) staff of three nurses and two supervisors serve over 100 first-time mothers and their children in Cincinnati and Hamilton County and make over 1,500 home visits a year.
These efforts contribute to the CHD’s Infant Vitality effort which includes an Infant Mortality rate of 7.1 for CHD clients which is in line with the national average of 6.7. NFP is part of a comprehensive Infant Vitality Initiative at the CHD which includes Every Child Succeeds, Healthy Start, Women Infant Child the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review and Quality Improvement efforts in our OB/GYN centers.
Dewar's client now has two sons. She never misses their doctor's visits. They are up to date on shots. She takes them to baseball and soccer practice. After completing a nursing assistant program, she left her job working at a fast food restaurant and now works in a doctor's office. “She changed from being flighty to being a responsible mom,” says Dewar. “She went from being self-absorbed to putting her children's needs first.”
“I have come across many young ladies who in the beginning of the program had no sense of direction, but because they want more for their baby they return to school, get degrees and decent jobs," says Doris Nelson-Frierson, the program's supervisor.
The program is voluntary and can last from pregnancy to the child’s second birthday. “Few changes are immediate, but we are in it for the long haul, and the difference made lasts a lifetime,” says Nelson-Frierson.
Dewar's client got married after the program ended, but still wanted Dewar as a bridesmaid. “She knew she could count on me,” Dewar says, chuckling. “But I told her, that's going to look pretty strange – I am old enough to be your mother!”
For more information about the Nurse Family Partnership Program please call the Cincinnati Health Department at 352-1423.
