HEALTHY
BABIES. FAMILIES. 2017-2018 Annual Report
THIS HAS BEEN A YEAR OF REBUILDING for Baltimore Healthy Start,
Board Officers
Inc. Our board members, staff, partners and clients have been working hard to increase our program’s visibility and services to address the social determinants of health.
Dorothy Reed, MBA, Chair Mary Sue Welcome, Esquire, Secretary Sarah Rose, MBA, Treasurer
Board Members: Leana Wen, MD MSc Robert Oliver Atlas, MD Alex Blum, MD, MPH Gena White O’Keefe, MD Sherrice Davis Angela Burden, MA, BSN, RN Francine J. Childs, BS
(Baltimore City Health Department Designee)
We kicked off our Breast Feeding Awareness Campaign in November 2017 with informational mailers and mass transit signage. Our message “Breast Feeding is one of the best ways to give your baby a Healthy Start,” was seen making its way around the city on buses and at bus stops. Our agency was featured in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s May 2018 Monthly Grantee Forecast, and our Belly Buddies™ prenatal stress reduction group was highlighted in the Maryland Department of Health’s January 2018 Home Visit Newsletter. In addition, one of our moms and her baby were featured in the Baltimore Sun, Redstart Creative showcased us on their Facebook page and we finished our new video which is available for viewing on our website and Facebook pages. We are excited to be able to increase our scope of services as the grateful recipient of multiple new funding streams, including grants from The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, March of Dimes, and Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (in partnership with Baltimore City Health Department and Health Care Access Maryland). Staffing additions include our onsite Mental Health Provider and Fatherhood Engagement Specialist. The return to offering Fatherhood services is reflected positively in 90.3% of our pregnant moms reporting father involvement; an over 6% increase above last year’s numbers. Feedback from our external evaluators, Carson Research Group, along with strategic planning and quality assurance efforts prompted us to implement programmatic changes that resulted in significant increases in many of our program benchmarks. We are especially proud to say that now 27% more of our moms are returning for their post-partum visits within the American College Of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended six weeks!
Financials 72.07% Federal Grants 24.73% State, Local, and Other Grants 2.64%
Contributions and Gifts
0.36%
Fundraising
0.20%
In Kind Contributions
2.64% 24.73%
72.07%
.36% .20%
We gladly welcomed two committed board members who have first-hand knowledge of our work and the families we serve, Angela Burden and Sherrice Davis. We are continuing to recruit new board members with a passion for our mission. We know that a firm foundation is key to the agency’s continued success. Thanks to your generous support, we had a record-breaking fall donation drive! Your kindness has allowed us to add breast shields, flanges and other breast feeding essentials to the supportive services, cribs for safe sleep, car seats and other items that are essential for our families’ success. We are grateful for the growth and opportunities and remain committed to continuing our endeavors to help our communities thrive and be places where every family has what they need for a Healthy Start. On behalf of the leadership team, staff and board, we thank you for your continued support. Warm Regards,
Lashelle Stewart, MBA Executive Director
CAN Members Collaborate to Support Rental Regulations Overhaul As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. But what does it take to ensure the safety and health of an entire neighborhood — or even a city — full of children? We believe it takes collaboration, and lots of it, especially when it comes to ensuring that everyone has access to safe, affordable housing, and a safety net if their housing becomes unsafe.
STRONGER TOGETHER That is why, over the past year, Baltimore Healthy Start Inc.’s Community Action Network (CAN) has partnered with a number of local agencies, including Communities United, The Public Justice Center, and Jews United for Justice, to support Councilman Bill Henry’s efforts to enact new legislation to overhaul Baltimore’s rental housing regulations. We know that no one can do the work alone. The new law called for a number of provisions aimed at reducing unsafe housing, including a requirement that small (one- and two-unit) rental properties be licensed and inspected in the same manner as larger properties. Among the safeguards called for to prevent housing insecurity and homelessness is an inspection checklist of items families need in a home to occupy it safely.
A WIN FOR RENTERS Several of our CAN members testified before the City Council about the importance of such legislation, and fortunately, the bill was passed in April 2018. The bill enables Baltimore to catch up to jurisdictions like Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, which enacted expansive rental licensing schemes decades ago.
STILL WORK TO BE DONE Unfortunately, some of the provisions that we believe are key to ensuring the safety of families were left out. CAN and our partners will continue to advocate for amendments to the bill, to make sure it provides greater protections for Baltimore’s families. Although it did not contain everything we had hoped for, we do believe the bill provides something, where there was once nothing. It gives our families an opportunity to advocate for themselves and take part in the legislative process. And that is a win for Baltimore renters in many ways.
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A FATHER’S STORY:
JOSHUA
Joshua fully admits that he was completely unprepared for the sudden turn his life took when he became a father at 18 years of age. “Before I had my son, Jaden, I didn’t know anything about fatherhood.” He had some plans in mind for the future — finish school, go into the military and, possibly, work in the police department — but nothing was certain. Jaden’s arrival helped provide some clarity, he says. He still wanted to become a policeman, but he realized he also wanted to be a part of his son’s life. He just needed help. “I knew that I had to find guidance in order to keep him with me, to find something that would keep me motivated and teach me to be a father.” At the encouragement of Jaden’s mother, who attended Belly Buddies and Breast Feeding Education at Baltimore Healthy Start, Joshua signed up to become one of the participants in the new Fatherhood Engagement Program, an initiative that promotes community and the value of involved fathers. The group, whose members range in age from 18 to 49 years old, meets monthly and offers fathers an opportunity to discuss common issues, like the importance of long-term relationships, and take part in group activities, such as family outings, fishing trips, and chess games. Joshua says that he enjoys meeting with the other fathers and learning from them, and he even got a job interview with a security company through one member. He admits he feels like a different person since joining the Fatherhood Engagement Program. “Before, my head was all over the place; I’m more grounded now.” But the best part about it? It’s personal, he says: “It’s all about getting to spend time with my son.”
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“ I knew that I had to find guidance in order to keep him with me, to find something that would keep me motivated and teach me to be a father.” - Joshua
“ We linked up right away, and she came to visit me once every few weeks. She was there for me, and made sure I had anything I needed.” - Shawna
A MOTHER’S STORY:
SHAWNA
Although she discovered Baltimore Healthy Start (BHS) during her first pregnancy, Shawna says she was reluctant to get started with the program. She was buying lunch at the market across the street from BHS, when she met the woman who would later become her Neighborhood Health Advocate. “I was short two quarters. She saw I was pregnant, so she gave me the change and her card.” Shawna accepted the help but didn’t reach out right away. She had support from her mom, and her pregnancy was going well, she says. “And I was only 19 years old. I was very nervous and just wasn’t comfortable with it.” She saw the Neighborhood Health Advocate a second time, a few weeks later, but it wasn’t until she read a flyer advertising home visits that the lightbulb went off: She could use some extra help. So she called the number on the business card and asked the kind stranger to be her Neighborhood Health Advocate. “We linked up right away, and she came to visit me once every few weeks,” Shawna says, adding that she eventually signed up for a Belly
Buddies class and stayed in touch with her Neighborhood Health Advocate for two years after the birth of her son, Rushawn. “She was there for me, and made sure I had anything I needed.” That made all the difference in her ability to be the mother she wanted to be, says Shawna, who works fulltime at a nursing home and is studying Criminal Justice at the University of Baltimore. So, last year, when she became pregnant again, “I enrolled right away!” she says, taking as many classes as she could — including breast feeding. “It was really helpful, and I enjoyed it,” so much so that she was just recently certified by WIC to be a Peer Breast Feeding Counselor. In addition to being a two-time client who has attended Belly Buddies and Breast Feeding Education, Shawna also is a member of the Parent Leadership Group. She likes to share her experience with others, because “having the right support makes a difference,” she says. “As I learned, you never really can be too prepared.”
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A YEAR IN REVIEW 2018 FISCAL YEAR
940 ACTIVE CLIENTS AND COUNTING
120 CRIBS GIVEN TO FAMILIES
PRECONCEPTION
91% of participants had health insurance
Baltimore Healthy Start, Inc. is committed to reducing infant mortality by utilizing a Life Course Perspective for improving the health and well-being of women and their families through the provision of comprehensive, supportive services offered in the communities where they live.
100% of Healthy Start women had a reproductive life plan
90.3% of pregnant Healthy Start women say the father is involved
27% increase in post partum return visit rate
4.8% increase in breast feeding initiation
DURING PREGNANCY
95.6% of pregnant enrolled women abstained from smoking in the third trimester
POST PARTUM
& CARE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
6.6% increase in children who received well child visits according to schedule
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2017-2018 Annual Report
54.4% of infants are read to at least 3x per week
OUR PARTNERS
We rely on the generosity and guidance of our many wonderful partners across Baltimore, including:
Current Funders and Foundation Supporters
Health Insurance Providers
Equity Matters
Amerigroup Maryland
Green and Healthy Homes
Baltimore City Health Department
Baltimore City Health Department
Health Care Access Maryland
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Baltimore City Infants and Toddlers Program
House of Ruth
East Baltimore Community Corporation
Baltimore City WIC Program
Martin Luther King, Jr., Early Head Start
Family League of Baltimore
Care First Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Maryland Food Bank
Health Resources and Services Administration-Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Maryland Home Visiting Alliance
March of Dimes The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund
Networks and Associations Association of Maternal Child Health Programs B’More for Healthy Babies Home Visiting Alliance/Consortium Maryland Birth Network Maryland Breastfeeding Coalition Maryland Nonprofits National Healthy Start Association
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Behavioral Health Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities
Maryland Women’s Coalition for Health Care Reform Mercy Supportive Housing New Vision House of Hope Park Heights Community Health Alliance Share Baby Sisters Together and Reaching
Enoch Pratt Free Library
St. Francis Xavier Head Start
Judith P. Hoyer Early Child Care and Family Education Centers
St. Jerome’s Head Start
Priority Partners Public Agencies United HealthCare
St. Mark’s United Church of Christ St. Mary The Virgin Church Women’s Advocacy Coalition
U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development-Baltimore U.S. Office of Minority Health
Local Businesses
Bon Secours Baltimore Health System
Home Visiting Programs
Oh Taste Lactation
Charm City Clinic
Baltimore Medical System
Omni Elevator Company
Chase Brexton Health Services, Inc.
Bon Secours Baltimore Health System
Redstart Creative
Chrysalis House, Inc.
DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families
Spectrum HR Solutions
Family Health Centers of Baltimore
The Family Tree
Kaiser Permanente
Healthy Start Programs Nationwide
LifeBridge Health
Maryland Family Network
Mercy Medical Center
Maternal and Infant Care/Baltimore City Health Department
Medical and Behavioral Health Care Providers Baltimore Medical Systems
Park West Health System Sinai Hospital St. Agnes Hospital
Community Based Organizations
Total Health Care, Inc.
Associated Black Charities
Transformation Health
Black Nurses Association
University of Maryland Family Practice
Center for Urban Families Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning
Carson Research Hogan Lovells, U.S., LLP
Academic and National Partners Baltimore City Community College Epsilon Omega Chapter, AKA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health March of Dimes (Maryland/D.C.) National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition National Healthy Start Association Reasonable Tech Solutions Inc.
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WHO WE ARE Established in 1991 as a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation by the Baltimore City Health Department to implement the original federal Healthy Start infant mortality reduction initiative, Baltimore Healthy Start, Inc. promotes health and wellness by providing expecting and new mothers and their families with the health care and resources they need to nurture their children. We believe in community health workers and peer models of improving health. Our recruiters, most of whom live in the communities they serve, meet women at their doorsteps and enroll them in a program that provides support through all stages of their maternal life: from preconception to pregnancy to postpartum, between pregnancies, and during a child’s first few years of life.
WHAT WE DO • Prevent infant deaths • Transform families — emotionally and educationally • Provide local and national leadership regarding social determinants of family resiliency and health We offer: Two home visiting programs: the Federal Healthy Start Program and Healthy Families America Wellness services, including family planning (in home or at the center), preventive screenings to identify early pregnancy complications (IPV, smoking etc.), mental health and other health screenings, with appropriate referrals, Belly Buddies, and Sister Circle Family and community engagement, such as transportation to health care appointments and center services; child-care during classes/events at the center; GED classes; a Parent Leadership Group; a store; monthly events and more. Baltimore Healthy Start, Inc. recruits pregnant and postpartum women with a child less than six months old to a Neighborhood Health Advocate or Family Support Worker, a staff member who performs home visits and provides necessary, individualized support to the family until the newborn reaches 24 or 36 months of age (depending on the program).
WHERE WE ARE We work in areas with rates of infant mortality at least 1½ times the U.S. national average and high rates for other adverse perinatal outcomes (e.g., low birthweight, preterm birth, maternal morbidity and mortality) in order to address the needs of high-risk women and their families before, during, and after pregnancy. We operate out of four locations: • Our full-service community center in East Baltimore, 610 North Chester St. • Forest Park/Walbrook, 2300 Garrison Boulevard • Morrell Park/Violetville, 1805 Wickes Avenue • Total Health Care, 1501 Division St., only for clients of Total Health Care
610 N. Chester St. Baltimore, MD 21205 410-675-2125 (phone) 410-327-6181 (fax)
baltimorehealthystart.org