Our Healthy Start News Release
October 1st, 2009
For Immediate Release Contact: Jon MooneyOctober 1, 2009 417-831-0150
Jordan Valley program to increase access to care for women and children
Partners in a new program called Our Healthy Start hope to increase access to healthcare services and improve medical outcomes for women and their babies.
Our Healthy Start will provide obstetrical and well woman services through Jordan Valley Community Health Center in collaboration with providers from St. John’s Health System, the WIC Program, the Doula Foundation and other community partners.
St. John’s obstetricians Dr. David Redfern and Dr. Meera Scarrow will oversee care provided to mothers-to-be by Carla Boone, CNM and other future certified nurse practitioner / nurse midwives and begin clinics in December after construction is complete on new clinical space in Jordan Valley. Funds for the new area housing Our Healthy Start comes in part from a more than $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced earlier this month by U.S. Congressman Roy Blunt.
“The purpose of Our Healthy Start is to provide comprehensive healthcare to mothers and their children, ensuring a healthier start for both the mother and child,” stated Brooks Miller, Jordan Valley President/CEO. “This program is one more part of Jordan Valley’s efforts to create a healthcare home for our patients and their families.”
"Many women in our community are currently not receiving prenatal care or are receiving incomplete care that only address the immediate needs that arise from the pregnancy,” explains Dr. Scarrow, St. John’s Women’s Services Medical Director. “We hope that our program will change the dynamic of perinatal care in our region in two ways. First, by decreasing the number of women that are receiving no care or limited care in the hospital emergency room. Second and equally important is to use this time together to address the many barriers that these women may have to taking good care of themselves and their babies. It is through the second goal that we hope to not only improve the chances of a healthy delivery, but also improve the chances of a healthy life. "
Although a main focus of Our Healthy Start is Obstetrics and Gynecology, patients in the program will use other services within the healthcare home including: the Women, Infants & Children Program, the Doula Foundation and Jordan Valley’s primary medical, dental and behavioral health services. The utilization of these services will result in greater access to healthcare and better health outcomes. Dr. Chan Ngo, medical director at Jordan Valley- “It is exciting to see such strong partnerships develop to work towards improving the health of women and their children. Many women and, subsequently, their current and future children, with limited access throughout Southwest Missouri will receive their healthcare through a coordinated delivery system to improve health outcomes.”
"With 55 percent of births in our area to Medicaid mothers, it is important they have options to receive comprehensive care," Congressman Blunt said in a news release announcing the grant money. "With the WIC clinic in the same building, it is only natural that the Jordan Valley Community Health Center's new facilities would house a clinic dedicated to prenatal and women's health."
The Our Healthy Start program will be administered in the Jordan Valley clinic located at 440 East Tampa. In addition to Obstetrics and Gynecological services, the Our Healthy Start program will seek to add additional services to enhance care for women and children. Jordan Valley currently serves as the healthcare home for more than 20,000 individuals throughout Southwest Missouri.
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Established in 2002, Jordan Valley Community Health Center provides quality primary medical, dental and behavioral health care to under-insured, uninsured and insured patients at clinics in Springfield and southwest Missouri.
