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Florida enacted Healthy Start statewide in 1991. Healthy Start is the most comprehensive maternal and infant heath care program in the nation. Healthy Start offers universal screening for all pregnant women at their first prenatal care visit and for infants at their birthing hospital to ensure early preventive care is directed to identify pregnant women and infants at risk for adverse birth, health, and developmental outcomes. During 2010, a total of 8,404 women and infants were screened for Healthy Start in Pinellas County. Screening forms are sent to the Pinellas County Health Department Central Registration and assigned for services if risk factors are present. Risk factors may include substance and alcohol abuse. The goal of Healthy Start is to reduce infant mortality, reduce the number of low birth weight babies, and improve health and developmental outcomes in children. There are three care coordination teams located at south, mid, and north county health department centers and seven Healthy Start Office-based staff at prenatal care providers. Pinellas County Health Department is the lead agency for Healthy Start home visiting services. Home visitors are Nurses, Counselors, and Family Support Workers.
The range of Healthy Start services available to identified women and infants include:
- Information and referral
- Comprehensive assessment of service needs in light of family and community resources
- Ongoing care coordination and support to assure access to needed services
- Psychosocial, nutritional and smoking cessation counseling
- Childbirth, breastfeeding and parenting support and education
- Home visiting
- Interconception education and counseling
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Nurse-Family
Partnership Helping First Time Parents Succeed©
The Nurse-Family Partnership is a home visiting-based program intended to promote well-being of first-time, low-income mothers and their children. Services include home visiting by trained nurses to provide parenting education, referrals to community resources, and promote family enrichment beginning in pregnancy prior to 28 weeks cessation through the child’s second birthday. The goals for the program include improving pregnancy outcomes, child health and development and the families’ economic self-sufficiency. Visits are made every 1-2 weeks until baby’s second birthday. This is an evidenced-based home visiting program
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Every baby deserves a healthy start free of child abuse and neglect.
Modeled after the highly successful Hawaii Healthy Start program and part of a National Network of Healthy Families America sites, this intensive home visiting and family support program has been in operation since 1992. Serving families countywide with 12 home visiting teams, the program focuses on preventing child abuse before it ever starts by working with families from pregnancy until the child is linked to the school system. Family Support Workers are home visitors who provide parenting education and support to families at risk of child abuse and neglect. The program offers enhanced services provided by specialty staff including nurses, mental health counselors, father services specialists, and substance abuse specialists as part of the team. The Pinellas site is the largest HFA single site in the nation, serving over 2,000 families per year. The Florida legislature passed a State Initiative in 1998 that enabled the program to expand statewide and this effort is known as Healthy Families Florida. Funding from the Department of Health, Juvenile Welfare Board Children’s Services Council of Pinellas County, and Healthy Families Florida support the program countywide. A collaborative Management Team provides over-site and includes the Pinellas County Health Department, Bayfront Medical Center, Morton Plant Mease Hospitals, St. Petersburg General Hospital, Suncoast Center, and Operation PAR
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Addressing health disparities will reduce infant mortality.
The St. Petersburg Healthy Start Federal Project is part of the national Healthy Start Initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Human Resources and Services Administration. The project is funded to reduce infant mortality and the disparities that exist between Black and White infants in infant mortality, low birth weight and other health indicators. The program is also designed to assist the local community to raise awareness about the problem of infant mortality and develop partnerships to improve health care. Home visiting, case management, health education, women’s health care prior to and between pregnancies, depression screening and mental health counseling are offered to assist families. A life-course perspective is used to address participant needs. This program serves African American prenatal women, women of childbearing age and infants up to age two and their families residing in south St. Petersburg (zip codes: 33705, 33711, 33712 and 33713) where Black infant mortality is the highest.
Creating Racial Equality and Ending Disparities (CREED), is a community action group composed of participants, residents, health providers, faith-based organizations, business representatives and other community stakeholders focused on addressing infant mortality. CREED reviews services and makes recommendations to the St. Petersburg Healthy Start Federal Project and facilitates community involvement and awareness.
The vision of this project is “Communities free of disparities.” The mission is to reduce infant mortality and eliminate racial disparities in the health of Black men, women and children. The approach used:
- To encourage and support individuals’ in taking ownership of their personal wellness/wellbeing
- To identify and address key contributing factors that impact family health for future generations
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To engage and mobilize communities to create change that ensures a safer and healthier environment
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Our vision is “Healthier, Happier, Safer, Babies and Families”
Our mission is to promote, improve, and protect the health and safety of pregnant women, infants, and families parenting young children through comprehensive home visiting, outreach education, and family support while embracing cultural diversity.
Our goal is:
- To reduce risk factors that cause babies to be born with very low birth weight,
- To reduce risk factors that cause baby deaths,
- To promote positive child development, and
- To promote safe environments free of child abuse.
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Summary of Services:
- Home Visiting
- Parenting Education
- Developmental Screening
- Help to make sure you have a Medical Provider for yourself and your baby
- Help you get services from the community
- Nursing Consultation
- Breastfeeding Education
- Childbirth Education
- Nutrition Counseling and WIC
- Transportation Assistance
- Help to stop smoking
- Help to stop using drugs
- Support Groups for Parents
- Counseling by a Mental Health Counselor
- Screening for depression
- Family Planning
- Immunizations
- Help with finding child day care
- Help with employment and training education
- Lead Counseling
- Father Services
- Interconceptional Care (Health Education and Counseling between Pregnancies)
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Many Thanks to our Funders: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas, JWB Children’s Services Council of Pinellas County, The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, and the Pinellas County Health Department
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St. Petersburg, FL 33701 
