The following quote is from Fr. Richard Rohr, “Those at the edge of any system and those excluded from any system, ironically and invariably hold the secret for the conversion and wholeness of that very group.” I read it this morning and I connected it to a home visit I went on last week.
The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is sponsored by the United Way and GHS. I had heard one of our physicians and the leader of the program in Greenville, Dr. Amy Picklesimer, speak about it at several meetings. As described in their brochure and website, the program has 3 main goals:
- Improve pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in preventive health practices, including obtaining thorough prenatal care from their healthcare providers, improving their diet, and reducing their use of cigarettes, alcohol and illegal substances.
- Improve child health and development by helping parents provide responsible and competent care for their children.
- Improve the economic and self-sufficiency of the family by helping parents develop a vision for their own future, plan future pregnancies, continue their education and find work.
Those goals sound pretty good…but it gets better. At GHS, we participate in a lot of clinical research and we base our practices on the results of research. The NFP lets us do both. The “Nurse-Family Partnership has been carefully tested during nearly 30 years of ongoing, longitudinal, randomized trials. These scientifically controlled studies have found consistent and dramatic benefits for first-time, low-income mothers and their children.” Here are some of the statistics and benefits from other communities:
- Mothers – 61% fewer arrests, 72% fewer convictions, 98% fewer days in jail.
- Children – 48% reduction in child abuse and neglect, 59% reduction in arrests, 90% reduction in adjudication as PINS (person in need of supervision) for incorrigible behavior.
- Society $17,180 lifetime cost savings for every NFP mother and child, $5.70 saved for every $1 invested in high-risk families.
The idea for me to go on a home visit came from my wife, Susan, who heard about the program at a United Way meeting and suggested I go with one of the nurses. The mom was contacted and agreed to a visit and the date was set. The nurse case manager, Veronica, picked me up in her car in front of the hospital and we drove to the family. I didn’t have any information about the family, so I created a story – I assumed I was about to see a minority, single-parent, stay at home mom in subsidized housing on the “other” side of town – amazing how my mind works! The first thing that struck me was how close it was to the hospital – about 5 minutes away. We entered into a tidy, mobile home and there was an exchange between Veronica and the mom, I will refer to her as J. J is about 19 years old (same age as my middle daughter), white, cute, soft-spoken, going to school, living with the father of her son – not quite like my story. As we entered the home, there was a quick exchange between Veronica and J about how tidy the home was. She knew I was coming and it was obvious she did a lot to straighten up the home. I was company and she wanted the place to look nice – I was flattered. Veronica and J went over a lot of the basics with regards to her son, little J, and how things were going. How was little J doing with solid food, sleeping at night, starting to use sounds, etc.. It was like watching a young mom talking to the experienced aunt or sister. The interaction was clinical, all the questions were asked, and loving, it was obvious they had a deep affection for each other.
I used the opportunity to ask J a few questions:
- What is working well with the program? J talked about having no family to rely on and no idea about the resources available in the community. She looked to Veronica for support on issues of being a first time mother, but also about being a woman. Having someone there to point what is available to her in the community was very helpful.
- Anyone connected to the program that she would like to recognize? J’s eyes got teary as she mentioned Veronica’s name and said, “I don’t know how I could have done this without her.”
- Are there any things that we need to improve? She would like to see the program last longer than 2 years!
- Does she have what she needs to succeed? This was eye-opening for me. J is going to school. The limiting factor is affordable and reliable childcare.
When the visit was over, hugs were exchanged, the next visit was arranged and I was back in my office in about 5 minutes.
I have talked about our vision of transforming healthcare for the benefit of the people and communities we serve – the NFP is an example of purpose, love and fulfilling our vision. It was a great day.
The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is sponsored by the United Way and GHS. I had heard one of our physicians and the leader of the program in Greenville, Dr. Amy Picklesimer, speak about it at several meetings. As described in their brochure and website, the program has 3 main goals:
- Improve pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in preventive health practices, including obtaining thorough prenatal care from their healthcare providers, improving their diet, and reducing their use of cigarettes, alcohol and illegal substances.
- Improve child health and development by helping parents provide responsible and competent care for their children.
- Improve the economic and self-sufficiency of the family by helping parents develop a vision for their own future, plan future pregnancies, continue their education and find work.
Those goals sound pretty good…but it gets better. At GHS, we participate in a lot of clinical research and we base our practices on the results of research. The NFP lets us do both. The “Nurse-Family Partnership has been carefully tested during nearly 30 years of ongoing, longitudinal, randomized trials. These scientifically controlled studies have found consistent and dramatic benefits for first-time, low-income mothers and their children.” Here are some of the statistics and benefits from other communities:
- Mothers – 61% fewer arrests, 72% fewer convictions, 98% fewer days in jail.
- Children – 48% reduction in child abuse and neglect, 59% reduction in arrests, 90% reduction in adjudication as PINS (person in need of supervision) for incorrigible behavior.
- Society $17,180 lifetime cost savings for every NFP mother and child, $5.70 saved for every $1 invested in high-risk families.
The idea for me to go on a home visit came from my wife, Susan, who heard about the program at a United Way meeting and suggested I go with one of the nurses. The mom was contacted and agreed to a visit and the date was set. The nurse case manager, Veronica, picked me up in her car in front of the hospital and we drove to the family. I didn’t have any information about the family, so I created a story – I assumed I was about to see a minority, single-parent, stay at home mom in subsidized housing on the “other” side of town – amazing how my mind works! The first thing that struck me was how close it was to the hospital – about 5 minutes away. We entered into a tidy, mobile home and there was an exchange between Veronica and the mom, I will refer to her as J. J is about 19 years old (same age as my middle daughter), white, cute, soft-spoken, going to school, living with the father of her son – not quite like my story. As we entered the home, there was a quick exchange between Veronica and J about how tidy the home was. She knew I was coming and it was obvious she did a lot to straighten up the home. I was company and she wanted the place to look nice – I was flattered. Veronica and J went over a lot of the basics with regards to her son, little J, and how things were going. How was little J doing with solid food, sleeping at night, starting to use sounds, etc.. It was like watching a young mom talking to the experienced aunt or sister. The interaction was clinical, all the questions were asked, and loving, it was obvious they had a deep affection for each other.
I used the opportunity to ask J a few questions:
- What is working well with the program? J talked about having no family to rely on and no idea about the resources available in the community. She looked to Veronica for support on issues of being a first time mother, but also about being a woman. Having someone there to point what is available to her in the community was very helpful.
- Anyone connected to the program that she would like to recognize? J’s eyes got teary as she mentioned Veronica’s name and said, “I don’t know how I could have done this without her.”
- Are there any things that we need to improve? She would like to see the program last longer than 2 years!
- Does she have what she needs to succeed? This was eye-opening for me. J is going to school. The limiting factor is affordable and reliable childcare.
When the visit was over, hugs were exchanged, the next visit was arranged and I was back in my office in about 5 minutes.
I have talked about our vision of transforming healthcare for the benefit of the people and communities we serve – the NFP is an example of purpose, love and fulfilling our vision. It was a great day.
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