In addition to screenings, nurses perform physical assessments with mom and baby, and provide advice on everything from safely caring for their child to providing a stable, secure future for their new family, according to Public Health officials. Services begin at around 28 weeks of pregnancy for expecting first-time moms, and will serve the family until the child’s second birthday.
The county board of commissioners approved the measure Thursday.
“Anyone that’s had children understands the lack of knowledge and experience that goes along with having your first child,” county commissioner Tom Koogler said. “For a mom who’s having her first child, feeding, bathing, things you’d think would be common knowledge, is foreign. Sometimes they’ve not had a good role model, or are struggling to know what the right thing is to keep the child safe and healthy. This program goes a long way for mothers having their first kid.”
Greene County already has a similar intensive home visiting program called Healthy Families. Where the NFP program differs is that it is staffed by Bachelor of Nursing-prepared Registered Nurses, which “provides a more extensive clinical piece,” said GCPH public information officer Laurie Fox.
“This is an expansion of services and adding another tool to our toolbox in helping families to reach their goals and dreams,” Fox said. “We believe there are many families we are not reaching that would greatly benefit from this program.”
Montgomery County was one of the first communities to implement a Nurse-Family Partnership in 1996, the next-closest being in Columbus. Greene County Public Health is currently among only 11 locations offering the NFP program in the state.
Nationally, Nurse Family Partnership programs have served over 340,000 families, and have made significant improvements in the lives of first-time moms and their children living in poverty, according to the national NFP program.
Those improvements include a 48% reduction in child abuse and neglect, 67% less behavioral and intellectual problems in children by age 6, and 72% fewer convictions of mothers, as measured when the child is 15 years of age, according to the organization’s website.
Greene County will start with two registered nurses in the program, with plans to start enrolling families within the next few months. Like the Healthy Families program, the NFP program will serve families that are low-income or Medicaid-eligible.
The county health department will pay for the two nurses’ salaries and benefits, while the Ohio Department of Health pays for their training. ODH is currently in the process of allowing counties to bill services to Medicaid.
“Until we are able to begin NFP, interested Greene County families can participate in our existing Healthy Families Early Childhood Home Visiting Program that is also evidence-based, and enrollment can come up to 3 months after the birth of the child,” Fox said. “They do not have to be a first-time mom, and we serve the family until age 3.”
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