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MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Burns, Public Information Officer, Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, 651.266.2537.
Nurse Home Visiting Achieves National Accreditation
Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health’s Nurse Home Visiting
is First Health Families America Program Site in Minnesota to be Accredited
Saint
Paul, MN. (May 12, 2015) — Saint Paul –
Ramsey County Public Health has become the first nurse home visiting program in
Minnesota to achieve national accreditation by Healthy Families America (HFA). Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) recently notified
public health that its HFA program has been accredited as a provider of
high quality home visiting services to families who want to improve their child’s
health, nutrition and developmental outcomes.
Research shows that home visits by a nurse, or other trained
professional, during pregnancy, and in the first years of life improve maternal
and child health, prevent child abuse and neglect, increase positive parenting
and enhance child development and school readiness. HFA is one of two
evidence-based nurse home visiting models used by Saint Paul – Ramsey County
Public Health. More than a dozen public health nurses and supervisors in the
county have been trained in the HFA model, which is a set of 12 stringent
elements grounded in more than 30 years of research.
“Parents want to be
good parents; and as parents we all have had many questions when it comes to
raising a child,” said Jim Hmurovich, President and CEO of PCA America. “HFA‘s
well-trained home visitors are trusted sources in their own communities. They
help provide answers to those questions, individualized support when it is
needed most, and linkages to other community services. HFA requires community
agency involvement and the commitment of community leaders. As we congratulate
Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, we also recognize the state and
community leadership that has contributed to success in Ramsey County.”
The accreditation process required an in-depth, detailed
self-study of services provided by public health, followed by a site visit that
included interviews with staff, clients and members of the Healthy Families
Community Council. Public health’s nurses have served more than 200 families,
with 3,032 home visits, since it began HFA in May 2012.
“We commend Saint Paul
– Ramsey County Public Health for opening itself up to such an intensive review
process,” said Cydney Wessel, National Director of HFA. “We believe that all
families and all communities deserve access to quality home visiting services.”
Family Health Division Manager Joan Brandt said the
department’s HFA program is one of the relatively few that has successfully
used interpreters to build long-term trusting relationships with immigrant
families that it serves. ”Families in the program speak more than nine distinct
languages,” noted Brandt. “The relationships our nurses have developed with the
families shows that they are able to connect, even if they don’t speak the same
language.”
The other evidence-based model used by public health is the
Nurse Family Partnership (NFP). “Together, our HFA and NFP programs constitute
the single largest evidence-based nurse home visiting service in Minnesota,”
said Rina McManus, Director of Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health.
“Having two models give us the flexibility to tailor our services to better
meet the individual needs of families,” she said.
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