Because home visiting programs are needed now more than ever, Children’s Trust continues to work with its partners across South Carolina to deliver program services to children and families during the coronavirus pandemic. While social distancing has limited much of the in-person contact usually employed by our prevention programs, our partners have skillfully adapted their work to ensure children and families receive the support and resources they need to stay strong in these trying times. McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership, a Florence-based organization under McLeod Health that is committed to healthy families in the Pee Dee, delivers the NFP home visiting model. McLeod NFP nurse manager Kristen Miller and nurse-home visitor Jennifer Turner answered questions about their team’s efforts to keep its commitment to provide services mothers and their young children during the COVID-19 outbreak. Cathy Ramage, Children’s Trust home visiting senior coordinator, provides support for McLeod NFP through funding from the federal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.
How was your organization able to overcome the challenges during this difficult time?
“We were able to jump right into telehealth with our clients. NFP has been using telehealth (distribution of health-related services through telecommunication technologies) when needed for a while so this was not a new concept for our nurses or clients, which was helpful to begin right away with COVID. However, regardless of most nurses doing the majority of service delivery as telehealth, we have still been doing visits and drive-bys to deliver diapers, wipes, welcome packets, baby baskets, and even breast pumps for moms needing help with breastfeeding. In addition, we have not quit providing safe sleep education either. We have delivered numerous pack and plays and demonstrated the setup and takedowns on front porches – and delivered car seats – if needed.”
What moment stands out the most to you?
“(McLeod NFP nurse) Alison Baggette’s client being diagnosed and delivering a baby with COVID-19. I think it just really hit close to home and was sobering for the whole team to see this mom struggle for her life on the ventilator in the ICU with a newborn.”
What did you learn about your organization and the families you serve that you can apply moving forward?
“We are resilient! Although the last few months have not been ‘normal,’ we have made it work through teamwork and collaboration. Our families are eager to continue talking with their nurses even if it’s not through a traditional home visit. Our client engagement has not seemed to falter through this time and we have actually decreased the number of clients who received no home visits in 60 days, an indicator of client engagement. That is a huge success.”
Kristen Miller
How did the families adapt to the new way of connecting with your organization?
“Many of our clients and families were familiar with telehealth. This was not an entirely new concept so most of them were able to transition fairly easily into this new way of connecting. However, they do really miss seeing their nurses in person and keep asking when this (outbreak) will be over and home visits will be back to normal.”
Looking to the future, what will be the impact on family support services as a result of this pandemic?
“We don’t think virtual home visiting will ever be completely ideal. The key to NFP is the connection between the nurse and the client. The longer this goes on, the more likely that we will see some loss of engagement with clients. The nurses have been so creative in finding out-of-the-box ways to keep clients engaged during this time, but eventually the lack of in-person connections may have a negative impact. At McLeod, we have tried to stay on top of the needs of families and continue to make drive-by deliveries for our clients as well as make referrals to community partners.”
