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ENLARGE
Lorena Melott holds her one-year-old Devin Carrillo as he plays with her necklace Saturday while talking with Nurse Family Partnership employee Lynne Mosbaugh in her home.
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ENLARGE
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Intermountain Nurse-Family Partnership employee Lynne Mosbaugh, left, reads through an instruction guide with parent Lorena Melott Saturday during a visit in Melott's home.
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SUMMIT COVE - Like many soon-to-be mothers, Summit Cove resident Lorena Melott was not quite sure what to expect when she found out she was expecting.
"I was still young, and I didn't know what to expect. It's a little tiny person - it's a life - you don't want to do anything wrong," said Melott, who was 20-years-old at the time of her son Devin Carillo's birth.
With the help of The Intermountain Nurse-Family Partnership, Melott was able to receive a mentor in the form of Lynne Mosbaugh, a registered nurse. The Intermountain Nurse Family Partnership, a local branch of the national organization, pairs registered nurses with first-time limited income mothers. The nurses visit the mothers throughout the initial stages of pregnancy through the child's second birthday. Duties of the nurses range from educating the mothers on nutrition and child discipline to acting as an emotional support system, sometimes even being present at the child's birth.
In Colorado, the Nurse-Family Partnership's funding is based on grants from state tobacco settlements and Medicaid. In addition to receiving a grant of $456,965, The Intermountain Nurse Family Partnership also recently received an expansion award of $164,371. With the expansion the program will go from serving 100 families in Summit, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Lake Counties to also serving portions of Park County and a total of 125 families.
Amy Wineland, the program's local supervisor, said that they were the only program out of six to apply that received the expansion award.
"I was still young, and I didn't know what to expect. It's a little tiny person - it's a life - you don't want to do anything wrong," said Melott, who was 20-years-old at the time of her son Devin Carillo's birth.
With the help of The Intermountain Nurse-Family Partnership, Melott was able to receive a mentor in the form of Lynne Mosbaugh, a registered nurse. The Intermountain Nurse Family Partnership, a local branch of the national organization, pairs registered nurses with first-time limited income mothers. The nurses visit the mothers throughout the initial stages of pregnancy through the child's second birthday. Duties of the nurses range from educating the mothers on nutrition and child discipline to acting as an emotional support system, sometimes even being present at the child's birth.
In Colorado, the Nurse-Family Partnership's funding is based on grants from state tobacco settlements and Medicaid. In addition to receiving a grant of $456,965, The Intermountain Nurse Family Partnership also recently received an expansion award of $164,371. With the expansion the program will go from serving 100 families in Summit, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Lake Counties to also serving portions of Park County and a total of 125 families.
Amy Wineland, the program's local supervisor, said that they were the only program out of six to apply that received the expansion award.
"One of the reasons we received funding is we have an amazing team of nurses and an amazing administrative support person," Wineland said.
One strong characteristic of her staff, Wineland said, is that they know the communities they serve very well.
On a Saturday morning visit to Summit Cove, Mosbaugh laughs with Melott as they watch Carillo explore his living room. Melott will celebrate Carillo's first birthday on Oct. 6 by throwing him a Winnie the Pooh theme birthday party and getting him his own cake,
"I want him to have his own cake in front of him. I just want to see what he will do with it," Melott said.
The two women discussed immunizations, doctor visits, and day care. Mosbaugh brought a chart out of her bag to compare Carillo's weight to other children his age.
One strong characteristic of her staff, Wineland said, is that they know the communities they serve very well.
On a Saturday morning visit to Summit Cove, Mosbaugh laughs with Melott as they watch Carillo explore his living room. Melott will celebrate Carillo's first birthday on Oct. 6 by throwing him a Winnie the Pooh theme birthday party and getting him his own cake,
"I want him to have his own cake in front of him. I just want to see what he will do with it," Melott said.
The two women discussed immunizations, doctor visits, and day care. Mosbaugh brought a chart out of her bag to compare Carillo's weight to other children his age.
During each session, the nurse helps the mother set goals, such as furthering her education or getting back into the workforce, and she brings worksheets on different topics for the mother to complete. On this visit, Mosbaugh brought Melott a worksheet titled "Love and Limits." It had a short exercise that emphasized the need for structure in a child's life.
Melott said that throughout her pregnancy and Carillo's first year, Mosbaugh has been extremely helpful to her.
"In the beginning I didn't know anything at all. I don't know what I was going to do without her," she said.
Smiling, Mosbaugh replied:
"You're a super mom Lorenna, and you've done a super job."
Melott said that throughout her pregnancy and Carillo's first year, Mosbaugh has been extremely helpful to her.
"In the beginning I didn't know anything at all. I don't know what I was going to do without her," she said.
Smiling, Mosbaugh replied:
"You're a super mom Lorenna, and you've done a super job."
Wineland described the program as "strength-based." She explained that on each rung of its ladder, from the national level to the local level, from supervisors to nurses, from nurses to clients, from clients to the children, the program emphasizes the positive points.
"We reinforce the positive. Research has found that focusing on strengths is more powerful in terms of change than focusing on deficiencies," she said.
Wineland includes the high qualifications of her staff as one of the strengths of the program. Of the six nurses, four have their master's in nursing, one has a doctorate and two are bilingual. Since the start of the program in the spring of 2001, Wineland said, there has been no nurse turnover.
Mosbaugh has been with the program for the past five years. She said that as a part-time employee she serves 12 to 14 families whereas the full-time employees serve around 25 families.
"I like getting the chance to make home visits, working with new moms and the whole philosophy of positive-based coaching," she said.
"We reinforce the positive. Research has found that focusing on strengths is more powerful in terms of change than focusing on deficiencies," she said.
Wineland includes the high qualifications of her staff as one of the strengths of the program. Of the six nurses, four have their master's in nursing, one has a doctorate and two are bilingual. Since the start of the program in the spring of 2001, Wineland said, there has been no nurse turnover.
Mosbaugh has been with the program for the past five years. She said that as a part-time employee she serves 12 to 14 families whereas the full-time employees serve around 25 families.
"I like getting the chance to make home visits, working with new moms and the whole philosophy of positive-based coaching," she said.
Although the program helps clients set goals, Wineland described it as emphasizing the control the mothers have on their lives.
"Each client is the expert in her own life," she said.
Experiments performed in New York, Tennessee and Denver suggest that the Nurse-Family Partnership has positive long-term effects. Some of the findings were a 48 percent reduction in child abuse and neglect and 61 percent fewer arrests among mothers.
Wineland said on a local level, the dedication of her staff makes the program what it is.
"I feel it is in their hearts to help these families become the best parents they can be," she said.
"Each client is the expert in her own life," she said.
Experiments performed in New York, Tennessee and Denver suggest that the Nurse-Family Partnership has positive long-term effects. Some of the findings were a 48 percent reduction in child abuse and neglect and 61 percent fewer arrests among mothers.
Wineland said on a local level, the dedication of her staff makes the program what it is.
"I feel it is in their hearts to help these families become the best parents they can be," she said.
