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TAOG Executive Office Karen O'Briant 141 Idlewild Creek Road Sweetwater, Texas 79556 (325) 235-1959 FAX: (325) 235-4687 TOLL FREE (866) 935-1959 TAOG 
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| (11-3-08) TEXAS NURSE-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP..... |
You are here: Home > (11-3-08) TEXAS NURSE-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP.....
Texas Nurse-Family Partnership to send nurses to first-time moms
As any parent knows, babies don’t come with an instruction manual. But some first-time mothers covered by Medicaid will soon get one-on-one attention through a new Texas Nurse-Family Partnership program.
The Nurse-Family Partnership pairs nurses with low-income, first-time mothers to improve prenatal care and provide one-on-one child development education and guidance.
The partnership aims to serve about 2,000 Medicaid-eligible women. In the program, a nurse begins working with a woman early in her pregnancy and continues until the child turns two. The goal of the partnership is to increase the odds of a healthy pregnancy and delivery, a safer environment for the baby, a strong network of support for the mother, and ultimately a brighter future for both mother and child.
“There’s a window of opportunity to help that woman, who is very vulnerable during those first weeks of pregnancy, when she finds out she’s going to be a mother for the first time,” said Melinda Hester, HHSC’s nurse consultant who is helping build the program in Texas.
The nurse’s role in the partnership is part nursing expert and part case manager, helping with prenatal care and seeing the family through the child’s first two crucial years.
HHSC’s Katie Ryan, policy analyst and project manager for the new program, says that by visiting the mothers in their homes, nurses can see the home and community environment first-hand and be much more effective at problem solving and teaching life and parenting skills. Nurses also know about other resources available in the community and can refer young mothers to doctors, dentists, child care centers or the WIC program. But most of all, the nurse is there to listen to the mother and help her set goals for her life to become a more effective parent.
Nine organizations have been awarded funding for the Texas Nurse-Family Partnership program, which was authorized by Senate Bill 156 during the last legislative session.
Any Baby Can of Austin
The Children’s Shelter in San Antonio
Healthy Family Initiatives in Houston
Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas
City of Port Arthur Health Department
Tarrant County Health Department
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing
University Health System in San Antonio
YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas
“It takes a special person to listen and be that change agent in a young mother’s life and to get her to the place she wants to be,” Hester said. “We often hear a potential nurse say she feels it is a calling or a ministry. That’s what we’re looking for: someone who knows how to go out into the community, go into a home, to find out the new mother’s heart desire, and help her become self-sufficient.”
Ryan, too, believes the experience will be positive for those who take on the challenge.
“Nurses share a core competency,” she said, “but they also have a range of backgrounds from psychology and behavioral health to labor and delivery, so that they can learn from each other and grow together.”
Ryan says each nurse goes through an extensive year-long training, though it takes about three years to become fully qualified. “It’s not an easy job,” she said, “but many find it rewarding.”
During the next several months, the Nurse-Family Partnership will launch from 11 different sites in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Port Arthur and Lubbock. Each site will have at least one supervising nurse, with four to eight other nurses who will do in-home visits. Each of those nurses will see about 25 families. The nurses needed to fill the remaining positions will be hired in phases as the program finds and enrolls more new mothers.
The local programs will receive referrals from a variety of sources, such as WIC clinics, school nurses and health-care providers. Moms-to-be looking to sign up can call 2-1-1.