CareSupport outreach
New mothers get a sympathetic ear and a helping hand
Donita Smith knows a little something about being a new mother. She has daughters of her own, ages 21 and 24, and a grandson not yet 1. Each birth gave her practical experience she draws on when she’s offering help to young mothers through CareOregon’s CareSupport program. “When they talk about post-partum depression, I’ve been there and done that,” Donita says. For a year now, Donita and fellow CareSupport health care guide Anita Peterson have been reaching out to new mothers who were CareOregon members during their pregnancy. Many of them no longer qualify for Oregon Health Plan, but their babies do. And the mothers are the most important caregivers. It’s important to not only share knowledge, but also help to address issues such as poverty or support that get in the way of being a good parent, says Denise Johnson, CareOregon health education coordinator. “We’re encouraging childhood immunization and wellness,” she says. “We’re also addressing post-partum depression, parenting issues, avoiding child abuse, as well as providing information on community resources members have available to them.” “We’re calling because we want to see if you’re getting the support you need.”
“Our first call is primarily to introduce ourselves,” Donita says. “We have a standard script, but it goes from there.” Donita and Anita will ask about the mother’s plans for follow-up visits to the obstetrician and pediatrician. They’ll ask about breastfeeding, and give information about breast-feeding support groups and parenting education. They’ll talk about the importance of immunization and dental care, and ask if the baby has officially been enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan. “Many are new to the Oregon Health Plan so don’t understand managed care and primary care,” Donita says. “It’s important to help them navigate the health care system, especially to get their babies enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan. The providers can’t bill to CareOregon until the baby has been added to the plan.” And they’ll ask the mother how she is doing. Do the mother and child need help from community agencies for food, shelter, clothing? “A lot of what we do is provide support,” Donita says. “A lot of what we do is offer different resources that are available and that they may not know about.” Donita and their colleagues will make three calls to each mother they’ve connected with, at 14 days after the baby was born, six weeks, and 12 weeks.“We send a standard education and resources packet to every mom who’s given birth,” Donita says. “If a mom is in need of additional help, I pull from the resources we have and send those, too.” At minimum, the first mailing consists of information about:
Moms also receive a baby book with space for pictures, vital statistics and immunization records. |
“I’m happy and surprised that my insurance company would care enough about me and my family’s health and welfare to make calls to see if I’m getting everything I need”—Bobbi Cunningham, mother of twoSuccess will be measuredHow will we know if this program is helping our members? Rebecca Ramsay, CareSupport Unit manager, says the department will compare data from the new mothers outreach program with baseline data from 2006, in order to evaluate the impact of this program. Outcomes to be looked at include:
Soon we will be able to measure the impact with utilization data.
Referrals to CareSupport initiative to new mothers are welcomeReaching out isn’t always easy. Often new mothers are difficult to contact. That's especially true when they are no longer personally eligible for the Oregon Health Plan, even though their new babies are. “In October, I made calls to 133 moms,” says CareOregon Health Care Guide Donita Smith. “I was able to contact only 58 of them.” Providers are welcome to refer new mothers whose babies are younger than 13 weeks old. For information contact Tareyn Tamez at 503-416-5753, or e-mail tamezt@careoregon.org. |
