Lycoming County United Way

Results Matter

Susquehanna Home Health
Nurse Family Partnership

The Nurse Family Partnership is a grant funded program based on the scientifically research-based program developed by Dr. David Olds. This program is highly refined to meet the long-established service strategy of home visiting. Three important objectives of the Nurse Family Partnership are:

Improving pregnancy outcomes by helping women practice sound health related behaviors, including obtaining good prenatal care from their care providers, improving diet, and reducing use of cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs.

Improving child health and development by helping parents provide more responsible and competent care for their children.

Improving families’ economic self-sufficiency by helping parents develop a vision for their own future, continue their education and find jobs.

The Nurse Family Partnership program focuses on low income, first time mothers. Nurse home visitors visit these families from the time that the woman first discovers that she is pregnant until the baby is two years old. The nurses follow program guidelines that focus on the mother’s personal health, quality of caregiving for the child, and parents’ own life course development. Nurses begin making home visits, generally, by the 16^th week of pregnancy and in no instances after the 28^th week of pregnancy.

The Nurse Family Partnership is a grant-funded program. This grant originates from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to Lycoming Health Improvement Coalition. The program is implemented by Susquehanna Home Care.

Lycoming County’s teen pregnancy rate is unusually high. For the years 2004 the pregnancy rate for women under the age of 15 was 0.8%, but the rate for those 15-17 was 23.4% and for those 18 and 19, 60.5% (all rates per 1000). The number of pregnant teens in the high schools of Lycoming County is alarming and growing. The Nurse Family Partnership currently serves approximately 125 young women; of the 69 new clients that we served in 2006, 100% of them were under the age of 19. The Nurse Family Partnership strives to reduce the interval between subsequent births; decrease the need for cash assistance benefits, and decrease the risk of associated behaviors that will stand in the way of improvement to the quality of life for the mothers and their families.

Susquehanna Home Health Care currently employs five full-time nurse home visitors, one half-time supervisor and one half-time secretary dedicated to serving this program. Following the guidelines of the Old’s model these nurses can carry a 25 family caseload. Currently the program is nearly full to full (the number enrolled in the program changes as those engaged in the program move out of the area). The five nurses and the supervisor attended extensive training to implement this program. Susquehanna Home Care has a long history of maternal/child home visiting and implementing home based care to young, low-income mothers. The majority of these nurses have been providing maternity care, in one form or another, in this community for over fifteen years. Their collective experience is extensive.

It is the goal of the Nurse Family Partnership, along, with Susquehanna Home Health Care to serve those in need with high quality, compassionate accessible and cost-effective home care. The Nurse Family Partnership provides this service.

Lycoming County United Way - 1225 Clayton Avenue, Williamsport, PA - 570.323.9448 - UnitedWay@lcuw.org