Colorado's Nurse-Family Partnership Funding Continues
September 8, 2006, DENVER - Funds totaling almost
$10 million have been awarded to Colorado agencies
participating in the Nurse-Family Partnership. The funding
continues a program in which experienced registered nurses
visit low-income, first-time pregnant women to assist them
in acquiring the skills, support and knowledge they need to
deliver healthy babies and become effective parents.
Funds for 2006-07 provided by Colorado's Nurse Home
Visitor grant program totaled $7,350,203 from the state's
tobacco settlement funds, and Medicaid funding provided an
additional $2,576,284. The Colorado Legislature earmarked
the tobacco settlement funds for the program during its 2006
session. The grant period began on July 1, 2006, and will
continue through June 30, 2007. Esperanza Ybarra of the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, who
directs the Colorado program, said the Nurse-Family
Partnership is a voluntary, evidence-based, prevention
program that has been proven to improve the health and
well-being of low-income, first-time mothers and their
children. She said the 2006-07 Nurse-Family Partnership will
serve 2,187 families in 51 Colorado counties. Nationally,
the program serves more than 20,000 families annually in 21
states. Ybarra explained that participating agencies in
Colorado work with Invest in Kids, a group of professional
nurse consultants who provide training and technical
assistance to local agencies to ensure their efforts align
with the Nurse-Family Partnership model.
"When Invest in Kids began partnering with communities to
bring the Nurse-Family Partnership to Colorado families
seven years ago, we knew the program would be successful
because of the strong research behind it," said Invest in
Kids Executive Director Jennifer Atler. "But even our
highest expectations have been surpassed. The program's data
clearly show that the Nurse-Family Partnership is improving
the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of low-income,
first-time parents and their children."
"We are privileged to work in partnership with the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and
with a legislature whose leaders have made a commitment to
this program and the children it ultimately serves," said
Thomas R. Jenkins, Jr., senior vice president and chief
operating officer of the Nurse-Family Partnership National
Service Office. "And we are grateful to Invest in Kids,
whose service to Nurse-Family Partnership communities in
Colorado has created a national model many would dearly love
to replicate." According to Ybarra, the Colorado
Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office reported
the following Colorado program outcomes through June 30,
2006:
- 20 percent reduction in cigarette smoking during
pregnancy
- 42 percent reduction in family/domestic violence
- 95 percent child immunization rate at 24 months of age
- 85 percent breast-feeding rate at birth
- increase of marriage during participation in the
program, from 20 percent at program intake to 36 percent at
program completion
- fewer premature babies in the program, 9.1 percent,
compared to the statewide rate of 9.8 percent
Funding awards for fiscal year 2006-07 are as follows:
- Boulder County Public Health, $451,392
Counties to be served: Boulder
Families to be served: 100
Contact: Jane McKinley, 303-413-7554 or
jmckinley@bouldercounty.org
- Denver Health Nurse Home Visitor Program, $538,735
Counties to be served: Denver
Families to be served: 100
Contact: Marti Potter, 720-956-2057 or
marti.potter@dhha.org
- El Paso County Department of Health and Environment,
$860,848
Counties to be served: El Paso
Families to be served: 200
Contact: Carolyn Johnston, 719-578-3232 or
carolynjohnston@epchealth.org
- Family Visitor Program, $488,690
Counties to be served: Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin
Families to be served: 100
Contact: Betsy Bowie, 970-945-1234 or
btbowie@rof.net
- Jefferson County Department of Health and
Environment, $862,125
Counties to be served: Broomfield and Jefferson
Families to be served: 175
Contact: Cynthia Farkas, 303-239-7074 or
cfarkas@co.jefferson.co.us
- Larimer County Department of Health and Environment,
$900,413
Counties to be served: Larimer
Families to be served: 200
Contact: Brenda Graves, 970-498-6731 or
bgraves@larimer.org
- Mesa County Health Department, $629,414
Counties served: Mesa
Families served: 150
Contact: Wanda Scott, 970-254-4104 or
wanda.scott@mesacounty.us
- Montrose County Health and Human Services, $301,980
Counties to be served: Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale,
Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel
Families to be served: 75
Contact: Tamara Hauze, 970-252-5020 or
thauze@co.montrose.co.us
- Northeast Colorado Health Department, $210,874
Counties to be served: Logan, Morgan, Phillips,
Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma
Families to be served: 50
Contact: Jane Reyez, 970-867-4918, extension 258, or
janer@nchd.org
- Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association,
$295,349
Counties to be served: Moffat and Routt
Families to be served: 50
Contact: Ann Irvin, 970-824-8233 or
airvin@nwcovna.org
- Prowers County Public Health Nursing, $304,911
Counties to be served: Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers
Families to be served: 50
Contact: Suzette Hall, 719-336-8721, extension 3, or
shall@prowerscounty.net
- Pueblo Community Health Center, $560,793
Counties to be served: Huerfano and Pueblo
Families to be served: 125
Contact: Georgia Gardner, 719-543-8718, extension 741,
or
ggardner@pueblochc.org
- San Juan Basin Health Department, $440,267
Counties to be served: Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata,
Montezuma and San Juan
Families to be served: 112
Contacts: Karen Carrieri, 970-247-5702, extension 275,
or kcarrieri@sjbhd.org
Bobbi Lock, 970-565-3056, extension 236, or
block@co.montezuma.co.us
- St. Anthony Health Foundation/Catholic Health
Initiatives Foundation, $449,796
Counties to be served: Adams, Denver and Jefferson
Families to be served: 100
Contact: Barbara Bronson, 303-629-3580 or
barbarabronson@centura.org
- Summit County Government, $456,965
Counties to be served: Clear Creek, Gilpin, Lake and
Summit
Families to be served: 100
Contact: Amy Wineland, 970-668-4182 or
amyw@co.summit.co.us
- Tri-County Health Department, $828,056
Counties to be served: Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas
Families to be served: 200
Contact: Chris Russell, 303-783-7151 or
crussell@tchd.org
- Valley Wide Health Systems, $546,432
Counties to be served: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla,
Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache
Families to be served: 125
Contact: Deb Gabbel, 719-587-1038 or
gabbeld@vwhs.org
- Weld County Department of Public Health and
Environment, $635,076
Counties to be served: Weld
Families to be served: 150
Contact: Sue Morse, 970-304-6420, extension 2186, or
smorse@co.weld.co.us
EXPANSION AWARD
- Summit County Government, $164,371
Counties to be served: Chaffee, Park and Summit
Families to be served: 25
Contact: Amy Wineland, 970-668-4182 or
amyw@co.summit.co.us
For more information, call 303-692-2943.
For more Boulder County information:
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