FIRST 5 LA AWARDS INITIAL $429,000 WELCOME BABY GRANT TO ST. FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION

FIRST 5 LA AWARDS INITIAL $429,000 “WELCOME BABY” GRANT to ST. FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION

Grant Supports Healthy Moms, Births, Babies, and Families

 (LYNWOOD, CA)  St. Francis Medical Center Foundation was awarded an initial $429,000 grant from First 5 LA to implement “Welcome Baby,” a key component of a multi-faceted approach to providing primary health prevention, parent education, and linkage to social services for St. Francis Medical Center’s maternity patients.  “Welcome Baby” offers personalized prenatal, post-partum, and hospital visits with a professionally trained Parent Coach, from pregnancy through the baby’s first 9 months for families living within First 5 LA’s Best Start Communities.  Families residing outside of the Best Start Communities are eligible for the Welcome Baby hospital visit and up to three additional home visits, if needed.  Available at no cost to all maternity patients, the “Welcome Baby” continuum of care also includes breast-feeding support as all Welcome Baby staff are Certified Lactation Educators, referrals to community resources, and an in-home visit by a registered nurse within the first week following mom and baby’s discharge from the hospital.

According to Mary Eileen Drees, vice president of Development and CEO, St. Francis Medical Center Foundation, “’Welcome Baby’ will benefit every mother who delivers, or plans to deliver, her baby at our hospital.  Last year, more than 5,100 babies were born in our Family Life Center.  We are delighted to be among the 24 eligible hospitals in LA County selected by First 5 LA to offer this program, and we couldn’t be happier to partner with them to help ensure the best start for moms, babies, and families in our community.”

“Welcome Baby” addresses the First 5 LA goal areas: 1) That children maintain a healthy weight; 2) That children are safe from abuse and neglect; and 3) That children are ready for kindergarten.    First 5 LA and partner hospitals work together to reach these goals by focusing on health and wellness before a baby’s birth and continuing through a child’s first critical months.  Using Parent Coaches, “Welcome Baby” addresses prenatal testing, home planning/safety, labor signs, breast-feeding, depression screening, family nutrition, observation for jaundice and hydration, infant assessments, and growth and development milestones.  Through both prenatal and postpartum hospital and home-based visits, Parent Coaches develop a relationship with the families and provide education in a convenient and comfortable setting, and help to ensure parents are connected to appropriate health care services.

“The main goal of ‘Welcome Baby’ is to work with families to enhance the parent-child relationship and the health, safety and security of the baby, and to make it easier for families to access support services when needed,” said Diana Careaga, program officer, First 5 LA.  “By providing intervention services immediately before and after birth, we can offer support to women and their families to reduce the potential risks to the baby’s health and safety.”

Drees concluded, First 5 LA’s “Welcome Baby” grant truly adds up to contribute to the Daughters of Charity Mission of serving the needs of our community.  Every person deserves good health.  “Welcome Baby” gives everyone the opportunity to attain it.”

About ST. FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER

St. Francis Medical Center (SFMC) is the only comprehensive, non-profit health care institution serving Southeast Los Angeles.  A member of the Daughters of Charity Health System, SFMC is dedicated to serving those who are sick and living in poverty.  The medical center provides a full range of diagnostic and treatment services, as well as many community outreach programs for the 700,000 adults and 300,000 children who count on SFMC for high quality and compassionate medical care.  For more information, please visit www.stfrancismedical.org.

About First 5 LA

First 5 LA oversees the L.A. County allocation of funds from Proposition 10, which added a 50-cent tax on tobacco products sold in California.  Funds raised help pay for health care, education and child development programs for children from the prenatal stage to age five and their families.  First 5 LA’s mission is to increase the number of young children who are physically and emotionally healthy, safe, and ready to learn.  For more information, please visit www.first5la.org.

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