GCPH Offering the Nurse-Family Partnership®, A Community Health Program That Changes Lives for Generations To Come
Greene County Public Health offers the Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP), an evidence-based home visiting program that provides specially educated and trained nurses to help first-time moms-to-be.
The NFP is a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting for low-income, first-time mothers and their families. The nurses begin visiting their clients as early in pregnancy as possible, helping moms make informed choices for herself and her baby. Nurses and moms discuss a wide range of issues that affect prenatal health — from smoking cessation and healthy diets to information on how to access proper healthcare professionals. It’s this trusted, expert guidance that has been proven to lead to healthier pregnancies.
The program begins early in the pregnancy and continues up until the child's second birthday.
Through the NFP, nurses provide new moms with the confidence and the tools they need not only to ensure a healthy start for their babies, but to also have a life of stability and opportunities for success for both the mom and the child.
“Every new or expecting mother needs to have someone that's knowledgeable with evidence-based information, that is up to date on what the best practices are at the time; and who can go into a home where the mother doesn’t even have to leave the house. It’s crucial for all moms and can prove to be a real game changer," said Jennifer Barga, Director of Community Health Services at Greene County Public Health.
“Becoming a mom is the hardest journey I’ve ever experienced, and I’ll forever be grateful for the resources NFP has provided for me and my family”, said one mother who received services from NFP.
The evidentiary standards for the NFP program are among the strongest available for preventive interventions offered for public investment. In fact, in medical and scientific journals, the NFP is most often cited as the most effective intervention to prevent child abuse and neglect, which contributes to childhood injury. Injury, in turn, is the leading cause of death for children from age one to early adulthood.
In addition, the NFP can help ensure school readiness for young children born into families at risk and prevent challenges in early education that can lead to a lifelong struggle with academic achievement.
While working with their nurse, many of the young women in the NFP program set goals for themselves for the very first time. The nurses call it “finding your heart’s desire” and know that goal setting is the first step toward accomplishment. Others look at this transformation and simply call it success.
One of the NFP program’s three stated goals is economic self-sufficiency for the family. The program’s two other goals are better pregnancy outcomes and healthy child development — foundations that help the family be prepared to succeed economically.
Research shows that NFP does, indeed, improve maternal life course. Nurses help the mother to feel empowered to set goals, make sound choices about her education, workplace participation, partner relationships, and the timing of subsequent pregnancies that enable her to financially take better care of herself and her child. That, in turn, brings down spending on social and other government program costs.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about or applying for home visiting services through Greene County Public Health, please call 937-824-0889 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To learn more about this program, visit www.nursefamilypartnership.org, or to view the research, visit: https://www.nursefamilypartnership.org/about/proven-results/published-research/
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