The Crozer-Keystone Healthy Start Project was recently awarded a new $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration. The four-year grant will continue funding for all current services provided through this family supportive services program.
“We are very proud to be one of the chosen few to receive funding,” says Joanne Craig, Healthy Start Project director. “Statistics show that there are 200 communities nationwide that meet the criteria for the grant, but less than half receive funding.”
Healthy Start is a community-based program that provides services to vulnerable pregnant women, families or caregivers of children under 24 months of age living in Chester, Eddystone, Woodlyn, Parkside, Upland, Toby Farms, Chester Township, Trainer, Marcus Hook, Linwood and now Chichester.
“Our goal is to reduce the infant mortality and morbidity rate and to improve perinatal outcomes in these communities,” says Craig. “Our staff work to actively recruit program participants, whether through referrals, or by canvassing block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, to identify individuals and families who can benefit from our services.”
Once enrolled in the program, participants can utilize case management, care coordination, counseling and health education services. Program services will also assist participants to access other educational, health, human and social services through referrals.
The staff of six case managers works very closely with families to identify and address their needs. If the services cannot be provided directly by the case manager or Crozer-Keystone Healthy Start, families are put in touch with other community resources. These needs can include custody concerns, housing, education, employment, coordination of services, translation or transportation.
“The Healthy Start project is part of Crozer-Keystone’s ongoing commitment to the community,” says Joan K. Richards, chief operating officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System, and president of CKHS hospitals. “The project’s community-based approach ensures increased access to services and resources, with the integration of a comprehensive package of health care and social services for new mothers.”
Healthy Start is currently in its ninth year. The program serves approximately 175 families, or 500 individuals a year. The program is free. To participate you must be pregnant, the parent(s) or caregiver of a child age twenty four months or younger.
The Healthy Start office is located at Community Hospital in Chester. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 610-497-7460, or e-mail at healthystart@crozer.org.