St. Joseph Community Health
Albuquerque, N.M.
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St. Joseph Community Health (SJCH) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, wants to make sure that all children have a healthy start in life. Research shows that social and economic conditions have a direct effect on health. A recent Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Issue Brief1, points out that at every stage of life, social advantage — or disadvantage — is linked to health. Family income, education, neighborhood resources and other social and economic factors affect health at every stage of life, but the effects on young children are particularly dramatic. Strong evidence also demonstrates that early interventions are the most effective in setting children on a path to a healthy future, which is what drove SJCH's decision to focus its efforts on early childhood health and development.
The foundation of a child's development is the relationship with parents. All parents want the best for their children, but not all parents have the same resources. That is why the St. Joseph Home-based Education and Support Program puts the family at the center of a community of support. Utilizing the First Born® Home Visiting Program model and an Enhanced Referral Service, St. Joseph provides home-based learning and support to those parenting for the first time. Knowledge gained and connections to support made with a first child carry through as the family has additional children, creating systemic change.
St. Joseph currently serves approximately 100 families, with the capacity to grow over time to serve 500 families. In line with a preferential option for the poor, recruitment efforts have focused on those areas in the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area with the highest level of poverty and the highest percentage of teen pregnancies.Individuals in these areas are primarily immigrants, both legal and illegal, and a large portion of the geographic area served is rural, without basic services (including electricity, water, sewer, transportation). Resources to support children and families, including health services, are virtually nonexistent in some of the program service area.
Services are offered to all women pregnant for the first time; mothers, fathers and/or families who are parenting for the first time; and families who are adopting their first baby. First-time families may enter the program anytime during pregnancy, at the birth of the baby, or up until the baby is two months of age. Program participation is voluntary and services are free.
St. Joseph sends a trained, professional home visitor to meet with expectant moms in their home, or any place that is convenient for the mother. By initiating services during the prenatal period or at the birth of the baby, first-time families are engaged at a time when the baby's brain growth is rapid and extensive — 90 percent of brain development occurs by the time a child reaches age five. From the beginning, the baby's development is monitored and families are connected with appropriate service providers and other support as needed. A referral specialist is called in to connect families with support including access to food, emergency shelter, housing, medical and dental services, employment, legal aid, day care services, a way back to school and special needs services. The goal is to improve the family's resiliency and ability to increase their social and economic assets. Home visitors follow a curriculum that parallels the baby's development until the baby is three years old. The curriculum provides flexibility to allow the family to take part in determining their needs.
Measured outcomes of the program focus on the prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Adults who have ACEs are 2.2 times more likely to experience heart disease than adults without ACEs, 1.9 times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, 2.4 times more likely to experience a stroke, 3.9 times more likely to have emphysema, and 1.6 times more likely to have diabetes.2 On a regular basis, assessments are completed to document that the mother is screened for depression and referred accordingly; the home environment is free from violence or involved individuals are referred for intervention and counseling; the family is educated about the risks of abusing alcohol, using street drugs and/or abusing over-the-counter medications.
St. Joseph implemented this program because a healthy start leads to a lifetime of good health — family resources, or lack of resources, are strongly linked with child health. If you change the first five years you change everything.
For more information about the St. Joseph program, please visit www.stjosephnm.org.
St. Joseph Community Health is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that is part of Catholic Health Initiatives. CHI is a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Denver. The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 73 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2010, CHI provided almost $590 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With annual revenues of approximately $9 billion, CHI is the nation's third-largest Catholic health care system.
- Issue Brief Series: Exploring the Social Determinants of Health — Early Childhood Experiences and Health — March 2011.
- "Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults; The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study"; Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, Koss and Marks. "The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Adult Health: Turning gold into lead"; Vincent J. Felitti, MD, 2002.