Family Connects in Eagle County: Conversations with Nurse Home Visitors

Family Connects in Eagle County: Conversations with Nurse Home Visitors

Family Connects Colorado is an evidence-based model and successfully demonstrated program that connects parents of newborns to the community resources they need through postpartum nurse home visits. The program launched in Eagle and Boulder counties in the fall of 2022, and will be expanding into Denver and Jefferson Counties this spring. 

As the State Intermediary for Family Connects in Colorado, Illuminate is facilitating the implementation of the model to ensure effective scaling and sustainability of Family Connects in Colorado. This work is being done in collaboration with Family Connects International and local partners across the state.

In February, Illuminate Colorado’s Executive Director, Jade Woodard, and Director of Home Visitation, Angelica Fox, visited the Eagle County Family Connects team!

Eagle’s team hosted the meeting at the Eagle County Public Health Department, with the objective of introducing Family Connects International’s Fidelity Readiness Assessment Tool (FRAT). FRAT is used with the community partner–in this case, Eagle County–upon preparation for transition to the Implementation Phase of Family Connects. The tool will be used multiple times throughout Eagle’s development and maintenance in objectively ensuring that they are working towards or achieving all model fidelity requirements. 

During the visit, Jade and Angelica had the opportunity to meet with Sarah Weatherred, one of Family Connects’ nurse home visitors, and hear what she has to say about the program. 

“We are able to share community resources that clients may not be aware of or know to navigate.”

Sarah Weatherred

Nurse Home Visitor

Sarah’s favorite part of being a Family Connects nurse home visitor is:

“The incredible team I get to work with and knowing we are having a positive impact on families in Eagle county. I love that it is all inclusive as well.”

A lunch meeting with Eagle’s team, a tour of Vail Health Hospital and a brief conversation with the Family Birth Center staff closed out the visit. 

A big thank you to Joan, Heath, Jeff, Shannon, Mariana, and the nurses team for your hard work and vision in bringing Family Connects to Eagle County residents!

Are you a new parent? Are you interested in a Family Connects Visit?

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Connecting Every Family to a Healthy Future: Family Connects Has Launched in Colorado

Connecting Every Family to a Healthy Future: Family Connects Has Launched in Colorado

Every parent of a newborn knows that with a new baby comes a multitude of new questions. Babies don’t come with an instruction manual and having questions is completely normal. Providing better support to ALL new parents isn’t just needed. It’s essential to building stronger families in Colorado.

That’s where Family Connects Colorado comes in.

Family Connects is an evidence-based model and successfully demonstrated program that connects parents of newborns to the community resources they need through postpartum nurse home visits. The service is simple: A registered nurse visits the home around 3 weeks after birth to check on parent, baby, and the whole family. There is no additional cost to the family, and anyone with a newborn can participate, including foster, adoptive, kinship, immigrant, and refugee parents.

Each family with a newborn has unique needs — Family Connects Colorado helps families identify the resources in their community and access services that fit with their individual needs and preferences.

Help for Baby

    • Baby weight check
    • Safe sleep information
    • Infant feeding and fussiness
    • Help with bathing, diapering, and swaddling

Help for Birth Parent

    • Birth parent’s health check
    • Breastfeeding support
    • Family planning advice
    • Postpartum depression screening

Help for Family

    • Scheduling doctor’s appointments
    • Understanding child care options
    • Early literacy information
    • Community connections

Launching Family Connects in Colorado

As the State Intermediary for Family Connects in Colorado, Illuminate is facilitating the implementation of the evidence-based model to ensure effective scaling and sustainability of Family Connects in Colorado. This work is being done in collaboration with Family Connects International and local partners across the state.

The launch of the program in Eagle and Boulder Counties this past month is an exciting milestone for the program, and expansion will continue with both Denver and Jefferson counties starting implementation in the spring of 2023.

To celebrate the launch of the program in Colorado and share more about the program with key stakeholders across the state, Illuminate hosted a luncheon on October 21st. The vision and passion that was shared for this program on national, state, and local levels highlighted the immense impact this program can have on all families.

Impacting ALL Families in Colorado

The evidence-based Family Connects model was developed and piloted in Durham, NC through a partnership with Duke University’s Center for Child & Family Policy (CCFP), the nonprofit Center for Child & Family Health (CCFH), and the Durham County Health Department. Results from an ongoing randomized controlled trial included:

    • 50% fewer emergency room visits and hospital stays for infants
    • 28% less reported anxiety by mothers
    • More positive parenting behaviors
    • Improved home environments and home safety
    • Increased community connections
    • Higher quality child care choices

As Illuminate continues to expand Family Connects across the state, the excitement for the potential impact continues to grow as well. 

We know that all families need support and that every parent has unique needs. Through Family Connects Colorado, we can begin to address those needs so that every parent has access to what they need to keep their family strong and their children healthy.

Learn more about Family Connects Colorado by visiting FamilyConnectsColorado.org or by contacting us at info@familyconnectscolorado.org.

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