New and expecting moms need consistent routine medical care services to ensure the health of their own bodies and their children’s. Unfortunately, many women have trouble accessing medical care. Improving this access is BCFS Health and Human Services, a nonprofit organization offering an array of services. The organization’s main capabilities include caring for youth in foster care and fostering families, offering support for low-income families, providing help for victims of domestic violence, and offering medical care for expectant and recent mothers.
To support mothers BCFS Health and Human Services began operation of a program called Healthy Start, which offers expecting and recent mothers with children under 18 months of age access to pediatric care, laboratory and pharmacy services, registration assistance, and other services. Healthy Start’s goals include a reduction of infant mortality rates and a broader improvement of mom and infant health outcomes and stability. Healthy Start has provided care for many mothers and their children who receive the care they needed to begin healthy and productive lives together.
BCFS Health and Human Services offers an expanded Healthy Start service through a mobile care unit. This medical vehicle travels to various locations throughout the community to provide more convenient medical access to residents. This is especially helpful for moms with physical mobility or those that lack reliable transportation and find it difficult to travel for medical appointments.
The Healthy Start program and the mobile care unit are part of BCFS Health and Human Service’s goal to develop trust-based relationships between community members and the organization.
