Nurses for Newborns
Nurses for Newborns strives to prevent infant mortality and reduce child abuse and neglect. Medical and community providers refer women with high-risk pregnancies and at-risk infants to the program, including infants who are medically fragile; infants of mothers who have medical, mental health, or substance use issues; and infants born to teen mothers. Nurses use home visits to provide education, support, assessment, and resource connection.
What is the model’s approach to providing home visiting services?
Home visits take place based on a family’s level of need. Services are provided until the child is 2 years old. Families may enroll prenatally or until the child is 12 months old.
Nurses for Newborns’ target population includes the following:
- Teenage mothers or teenage parents
- Children with developmental delays or disabilities
- Children with special health care needs or medical conditions requiring surgery
- Families with a history of substance abuse or in need of treatment
- Families with a history of child abuse or neglect/involvement with child welfare system
- Expectant mothers with medical or mental health concerns
Who is implementing the model?
Home Visitors
Nurses for Newborns was implemented by 7 home visitors in 2019. The model requires that home visitors have at least a bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years of experience in the neonatal intensive care unit, labor and delivery, nursery, maternity services, or pediatrics departments.
Supervisors
Nurses for Newborns was implemented by 1 supervisor in 2019. The model requires at least a bachelor’s degree for supervisors.
Where is the model implemented?
Nurses for Newborns operated across 2 states in 2019.
Families Served Through Home Visiting in 2019
Mission
Nurses for Newborns’ mission is to provide a safety net for at-risk families to prevent infant mortality, child abuse, and neglect. Nurses provide screenings, assessments, education, and resource referrals during home visits to promote health care, education, social and emotional child development, and positive parenting skills. These efforts provide a positive foundation for infants to grow into healthy, productive adults.
History
Sharon Rohrbach, RN, founded Nurses for Newborns in 1991, in response to high infant mortality rates in Greater St. Louis, MO. In October 2001, Nurses for Newborns opened a second office in Nashville, TN, to provide prevention-based support to families. Since then, Nurses for Newborns has completed more than 71,800 in-home visits for the benefit of more than 9,200 families in Tennessee.