2010 Annual Report

“Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women, infants, and young children.”

  Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc.   1

Pages 4-5Events and Fundraisers

Pages 6-7Guide to Programs

Page 2A Message from...

The Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc.

July 2009 - June 2010

Page 3The Next Five Years

2009-2010 Healthy Start Coalition Staff

Jennifer Highland, MPH, RNExecutive Director

Janice Baxter, ACSWContract and Quality Assurance Manager

Tiffany Prater, MAEducation Coordinator

Ciera Galbraith, BSCommunications and Development Specialist

From the desk of our Executive DirectorAs you may know,

the Florida House of Rep-resentatives submitted a bill last session to eliminate all Healthy

Start Coalitions in Florida. Thanks to the help of Healthy

Start Coalition members and supporters statewide… We’re still here! Your letters, phone calls,

news articles, and support went a long way in educating legislators about the consequences of this proposed bill.

Recent research — known as the life course perspective – is showing how health problems earlier in life actually impact future pregnancies and fetal development. More women are entering pregnancies with chronic medical conditions as a result of poor health or obesity, or have addictions to tobacco, alcohol, prescrip-tion medications, or illegal drugs. Mothers find it more difficult

to breastfeed because of competing priorities, which can impact the life-long health of that child. These issues seriously threaten all of the progress of the last 20 years in reducing fetal death, prematurity, low birth weight, infant death, and maternal death.

You can help us foster improved health and well-being for our most precious little Sarasota County residents, their parents, and their families. Everyone has a role to play, whether it’s sharing new information you’ve learned with clients or your family members, taking an active role in the community, recom-mitting to your working relationship with the Coalition, becoming a member of our Coalition, volunteering, or making a donation. We still need you! Please join us as we start our next five years of service to pregnant women and infants.

A Message from our Executive Board

H e a l t h y Start is close

to my heart. It is a truly vital

organization in our community and

it has been such an honor to serve on the volunteer Board of Directors for six years. When we consider the future health of our community, it makes the most sense to start at the beginning; doing all we can to ensure healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Having the benefit of a healthy start in life dramatically increases the chances of continued health and well-being for the rest of

our lives. At Healthy Start, we are very fortunate to have a dedicated staff and Board and wonderful Coalition members who are all passionate about our mission. However, our current funding allows us only to help pregnant women and babies at the highest risk. Our dream is to help all pregnant women and babies at risk in Sarasota County. Please consider volunteering or making a tax-deductible contribution to Healthy Start. We need you to make our dream come true!

2 Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc. 

Annual Report

Thank you to our generous and talented 2010 Executive Board for your dedication, time, and energy!

Shara AbramsCo-Chair

Jenna NorwoodCo-Chair

Cameron IcardVice-Chair

Mike McIntoshTreasurer

Carol SelveyAt-Large, Business

Shelby HillSecretary

Kitty CranorAt-Large

Monica BecketAt-Large

Kelly KirschnerPublic Official

Shelley RenceEx-Officio

Ronald ReaganHonorary

Ed ChilesHonorary

Anne MuirMomCare Supervisor

Miryan McDonaldAdmin. Asst/ Spanish MomCare Advisor

Teri EndresMomCare Advisor

Beverly PhelpsSave My Life 

Program Coordinator

Cindy Martin, RN, MSN, IBCLC, CKCFIMR Coordinator

The Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc. is celebrating our 12th birthday in 2010. Having completed our Service Delivery Plan for 2010 – 2015 we are pursuing new endeavors to help pregnant women and infants achieve better health, and meet the needs of those who have risks which may lead to fetal death, prematurity, low birth weight, or infant death.

Healthy Start Coalitions across the state assure there are well-orchestrated systems in place to identify pregnant women and infants who are at risk for poor birth outcomes, and assure access to prenatal care and other needed services to help reduce risks. Some, like ours, offer professional and public education programs about different aspects of pregnancy and infant health, and prevention of risk factors. We are the only organization in Sarasota County in this unique position.

We have taken a “bird’s eye view” of the health and needs of women of childbear-ing age, pregnant women, and infants. The trends we feel are most affecting their health are: smoking, substance abuse,

obesity, maternal infections, unplanned pregnancies, high Cesarean section delivery rate leading to unnecessary pre-term births, sub-optimal breastfeeding rates, and significant maternal and infant health disparities among African-Americans.

Our activities over the next five years will take place within our programs in col-laboration with public and private maternal-child health care providers and others who play a role in advancing and improving the health of women of childbearing age and their offspring. Over the next five years we will:

1. Implement the “Right from the Start” and “text4baby” campaigns, both of which target pre/intercon-ception, pregnancy, and infant health.

2. Promote uniform counseling messages and support use of the 5 A’s approach for women at risk of continuing tobacco use during pregnancy or between pregnancies.

3. Improve screening for drug abuse among pregnant women, and advocate for routine drug screening and treatment.

4. Provide education to the community and enhance Healthy Start services to

reduce the hazards of obesity during pregnancy.

5. Improve public awareness of the risks of maternal infections during pregnancy and the importance of prevention and adherence to treatment protocols.

6. Offer updated family planning education to Healthy Start, MomCare, and Healthy Families clients.

7. Improve public aware- ness of the dangers of elective C-sections prior to 39 weeks of gestation.

8. Improve breastfeed-ing rates among Healthy Start and Healthy Families clients by working along the continuum from pregnancy through the postpartum phase.

9. Increase and sustain education and support for pre-conception, interconception, and pregnancy health for high risk African-American pregnant women in Newtown.

The Coalition will fulfill its goals with the help of legislators, donors, Florida Department of Health, our Executive Board, staff, members, service providers, community partners, and volunteers– all who play an important and rewarding role in assuring the health and well-being of Sarasota County’s next generations.

2009 Annual Award Winners

Community Partner of the YearFor outstanding collaboration to support Healthy Start ClientsFirst Step: Mothers and

Infants Program

Family of the YearFor a family who has overcome obstacles and demonstrated a commitment to their

child’s health and well-being.The Alvarez-Perez Family

Lawton Chiles AwardFor contributions to prenatal and early

child health and exceptional commitment, wisdom, leadership, and vision.

Dr. Jerome Isaac

Mission Award For an individual whose work with

the Healthy Start Coalition has been of sustained, significant value in helping

to achieve our mission.Rebecca Clapp, SCHD

Volunteer of the YearFor a volunteer whose contributions have been of great support to families

during pregnancy and infancy.Angel’s Attic

Media Partner AwardFor exceptional media coverage to

benefit the health of pregnant women and young children

Jackie Barron, WFLA Channel 8

  Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc.   3

On Thursday, January 21, Sarasota Architectural Salvage hosted “An Evening with Healthy Start,” the first major fundraising event effort by the Healthy Start Coalition.

Local band, The Equines, kicked off the night with their rendition of “It’s my party” as guests lined up at the door to get inside. Guests flooded in and were greeted by Healthy Start Staff. At the registra-tion table, guests were given information about Healthy Start programs and volunteer opportunities, and encouraged to sign up for our E-Newsletter.

Event Coordinator Ciera Galbraith made an announce-ment welcoming guests and thanking our generous sponsors – and we had a LOT to thank! Gold Coast Eagle Distributors provided 5 cases of beer and cider; Executive

Board member Kitty Cranor sponsored 5 cases of wine; Michael’s on East, Poki Joe’s, Carr’s Corner Café, and Publix all catered food; Buddha Belly Donuts provided brownies and donut holes for the delicious chocolate fountain, and Sweetbay Supermarket sponsored utensils.

Ciera also announced our raffle and silent auctions and thanked those generous sponsors. The prize item of the silent auction was a beautiful heart pendant necklace donated by world-famous jewelry designer, Ned Bowman, valued at $985. The raffle was also a great success, with items donated by Morton’s Market,

The Fresh Market, Sarasota Candle Company, Lonjevity Café and Bar, and Sarasota Architectural Salvage.

At the bar area set up in the back, Staff worked tirelessly to serve guests drinks for the evening. Patrons were encouraged to give tips at the bar that would be counted as donations toward Healthy Start – and we made over $400 in donations from tips alone!

The band played on through the evening while guests mingled and enjoyed the great food and beverages. Our poster model and Healthy Start Client, one year old

We kicked off 2010 with our first major fundraiser - and it was a great success!

4 Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc. 

Annual Report

Selena Marie Akal, was in attendance and captured the hearts of everyone there.

Don Daly Photography donated photography for the evening, and got some great shots! Photos can be viewed online at www.dondalyphoto.com.

The evening was a resounding success and we would like to thank all who contributed, sponsored, and attended. We raised over $2,700 for Healthy Start, surpassing our goal for the

night! Next year’s fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, January 20th, 2011 from 6 - 9pm. So mark your calendars, because you won’t want to miss it!

Beautiful hand-made necklace by Ned Bowman,

Executive DirectorJennifer Highland and Executive Board Co-Chair Jenna Norwood with Dr. Washington Hill

Executive Board Member Kelly Kirschner with Friends and Family

We have a new tradition here at the Healthy Start Coalition! On April 22, we held our first Volunteer Appre-ciation Breakfast.

We wanted to say, “Thank You” to our generous volunteers who have selflessly dedicated their time to helping our cause. The Coalition staff brought in homemade treats to share with our volunteers and presented each with a personalized “Thank You” card to recognize them for all of their hard work and generosity!

We will be holding these appreciation brunches frequently to remind our volunteers how much they mean to us. If you are interested in volunteering for the Coalition, please contact Miryan McDonald, at (941) 373-7070, ext. 300.

Special Thanks to our 2009- 2010 Volunteers:Jesse Coleman, Clara Rock Green, Christine Hofstra, Jo

Kabobel, SueEllen Kaeb, Abby Lindo, Joy Luce, Liz Murphy, CeCe Nguyen, Katie Pfost , Stephanie Sierra , Jamee Thumm,

Karen Wend, Earl Young, Marie Zimmerman

Healthy Start Staff with volunteers

Poster Model Selena with Mom Maria

Volunteer Appreciati on Days

  Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc.   5

On Saturday,

March 13th, at the Glenridge

on Palmer Ranch, The Healthy Start Coalition hosted its first “Mozart Effect” fundraiser, a classical music charity concert featuring esteemed local musicians performing the works of Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Handel, Liszt, and Mendelssohn.

The “Mozart Effect” is a term coined by Alfred A. Tomatis to describe the popular theory that exposure to classical music, par-ticularly the music of Mozart, in the women and during the first 3 years of life, can have beneficial effects on a child’s mental development and spatial reasoning skills.

This unique fundraiser

was created and organized by Executive Board Co-Chair Jenna Norwood. Jenna was inspired by the work of her late Grandmother, Maria DeLuca, who taught music in Sarasota County for more than 50 years, and was an invaluable influence on hundreds of musicians in Sarasota County.

The Downtown Sarasota Farmer’s Market donated 3 weeks of booth space to

Healthy Start, both to advertise this fundraiser, and also to allow us to speak to the community about the services we provide. The Farmer’s Market also generously provided a huge gift basket, featuring items from Farmer’s Market vendors and valued at over $750, for the event raffle.

We eventually hope that this event will grow large enough to provide funding to create a locally produced classical music CD to distribute to all pregnant women in Sarasota County, accompanied by educational information about pregnancy.

Next year’s “Mozart Effect” Concert is scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 13th, from

2 - 4pm at the Glenridge on Palmer Ranch. Tickets are $25, or free for pregnant women.

Jenna Norwood’s Fundraiser

Musicians: (Left to Right)Isabella Theiller, Maria DeLuca, Eleonora Lvov,

Phyllis Willever, Laura Jensen-Jennings, Joy Leitner and Candy Herrera

The 16th Annual Community Baby ShowerCosponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Sarasota

On Saturday February 20th, at the Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota County, The Healthy Start Coalition and the Kiwanis Club of Sarasota County c o s p o n s o r e d the 16th Annual Community Baby Shower.

P r e g n a n t women, new moms, and their families were invited for this free event, featuring educational exhibits from local health organizations, raffle gifts, and fun for the whole

family!Families were given

free gifts through a raffle sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Sarasota and the exhibitors, and children enjoyed games and face-painting by the Sarasota High

School Key Club. Guests munched on

snacks provided by the Kiwanis Club, and drank delicious smoothies donated by Sunni Bunni Frozen Yogurt.

Guests were also treated to a stylish pregnancy fashion show, sponsored by local m a t e r n i t y b o u t i q u e , B l o o m i n ’ B e l l i e s . Models for the Fashion Show were from the First Step Mothers and Infants Program, and were given beautiful make-overs by Fresh. Salon and Mary Kay.

The highlight of the day was the Diaper Derby, emceed by Mayor and Healthy Start

Executive Board Member, Kelly Kirschner. Key Club Volunteers helped crawling infants race

across the finish line, with the winner garnering a month’s supply of diapers!

We par-ticularly enjoy hosting these

Community Baby Showers, as it is a wonderful way for us to meet and interact with our clients, while also providing them with education and essential baby items.

And they’re off! Diaper Derby Contestants are ready to go!First Step clients modeling

clothing from Bloomin’ Bellies

Other Events

World Breastfeeding Week Door Decorating Contest

August 1-7, 2009

Ready, Set, Grow! Family Fair

(with United Way, The Early Learning Coalition,

and the Sarasota Partnership for Children’s Mental Health)

July 25th, 2009

Maternal-Child Health in the 21st Century

(with Florida Friends of Midwives, and Sarasota NOW)November 1st, 2009

Introduction to Healthy Start

February 1st, 2010

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Workshop

(with The Florida Center for Child and Family Development)

March 22, 2010

Cross-Cultural Considerations for

Maternal/Child Health(with Gulf coast South Area Health

Education Center)April 23rd, 2010

Sarasota Film Society “Babies” Documentary

Film ScreeningMay 15, 2010

As you know, the economic downturn continued to be especially serious in our county last year. Sarasota County saw a reduction in the population of women of childbearing age as their families moved out of the area to seek work. Even with a slightly reduced number of clients, the Healthy Start Program had a very busy year. Our clients faced greater challenges than ever before. We saw more pregnant women facing homelessness. The number of pregnant women who smoke increased. There was a significant increase

in the number of pregnant women with substance abuse issues, mainly Oxycodone, Methadone, and Benzodiaz-epine addictions. Chaos was in

control for many. Our Healthy Start Care Coordinators and Wraparound Service Providers responded to these needs with increased oversight and support for those having a difficult time.

Services are tailored to each of our clients, and can include Care Coordina-tion, Tobacco Cessation, Psychosocial Counseling, Nutrition Counseling, Child birth Education, Breastfeed-ing Education and Support, Parenting Education, and Inter-conception Health Education. This year we were fortunate to be able to add breastfeeding

education and support in Spanish. In a d d i t i o n , s e r v i c e s a n d i n c e n t i v e s for Healthy Start clients in the First Step Mothers and Infants Program for substance abuse were expanded, to more intensely assist them with smoking cessation and successful breastfeeding.

Please take a moment to thank our front line service providers for the tremendous job they have done!

Healthy Start Care Coordinators

Shelley Rence, MAProgram Administrator

C.J. Barney, BS

Kathleen Boyette, MA

Jessica Bravo, BS

Virginia Brockman, MPH, RN

Rita Jones, ACSW

Elisa Niles, MA

Pat Reynolds, MSW

Suzanne Sendelbach, RN

Nancy Valles, MA, RN

Wrap-Around Service Providers

Natalia Cava, MS, CLC

Monica Cherry, LMHC

Jeanie DeLa, MS, LMHC

Carol Donnelly, LMHC

Dolores Dunn, LMHC

Tonine Garberino, LMHC, MA

Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Sarasota-Manatee,

Inc. Dale Block, LMFT

Barbara Leverone, MA, LMT

Dora Limoncelli, LMHC

Linda Miller, LMHC

Samaritan Diane Brantley, LCSWDennise Lawry, Psy.D.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Carol Eldridge, RN

Chip Schaaff, LMHC

Mary St. Aubin, LMHC

Mary Ann Stockstill, LMHC, RN, PhD

The FIMR Project is an action-oriented community process that continually assesses, monitors, and works to improve service systems, community education, and resources for women, infants, and families.

The FIMR process brings together key members of

the community to review de-identified information from individual cases of fetal and infant death or prematurity to identify factors associated with those deaths or premature births. This knowledge is then used to make changes in the system of prenatal and infant care.

Annually, data is compiled for the Case Review Team (CRT) to analyze to determine our County’s predominate issues or problems, and make

priority recommendations. The Community Action and Education Group takes these priorities, and plans strategies to address the issues.

This year, the major com-monalities among fetal and infant death cases in Sarasota County were identified as: Obesity, Dental or Genitouri-nary Tract Infections, Smoking and Tobacco Use, and Not calling a prenatal care provider after experiencing lack or absence of fetal movement.

6 Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc. 

Annual Report

2,645Community referrals made

for pregnant clients

1,455Community referrals

made for infants

188Highest risk prenatal clients

159Highest risk infant clients

2,882Total resident births for

July ‘09 - June ‘10

88%Percentage of pregnant

women screened for risks

67%Percentage of newborns screened

Healthy Start Services were provided to 1,628 pregnant women and 1,185 infants

  Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc.   7

Did you know? African-American babies are twice as likely to die in their first year of life as other babies, and pregnant women are 4 times as likely to lose their babies before birth.

In an effort to reduce these disparities, the Healthy Start Coalition initiated the Save My Life Program in 2007, an education and support-based program which addresses the need for a high-quality, culturally relevant support system to improve maternity health and birth outcomes among African-Americans in our community.

This program works to reduce poor birth outcomes by increasing community awareness about risk factors that lead to poor maternal and infant health,

and by implementing free classes and group sessions which specifically focus on helping women to make positive behavioral changes. Classes are presented in a culturally-sensitive manner, and are held in community venues or in private homes to increase accessibility.

The Save My Life Program Coordinator, Beverly Phelps, has over 22 years of experience as a family support worker in Sarasota County. She is recognized as the first African-American

Childbirth Educator in Sarasota County and is also trained

in Breastfeeding Support and Pre-conception Health.

This year, the Save My Life Program held over 100 classes, serving over 172

clients. The Save My Life Program is currently

seeking funding to ensure that it is able to continue

this success in the future. Please contact the Coalition if you are interested in making a donation to this unique and deserving program.

Save My Life Saved My Life!

This year’s Community Health Worker program focused on Pre/Inter-Concep-tion Health. The presentation focused on how both men and women can prepare physically, emotionally and financially to have a baby. The presentation gave practical tips on how to attain these things and also how to plan their pregnancies if they’re not ready to have children right away. This program was funded by

Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center.

Healthy Start Coalition Education Coordinator Tiffany Prater, MA, and Gulfcoast South AHEC Community Education Coordinator, Ansley Mora, trained 6 Community Health Workers on January 9, 2010. From January – May 2010, our CHWs reached a total of 332 people at health fairs and presentations through Sarasota County!

2010 Community Health Worker Program

“Do you need a tune-up before pregnancy? Tune up your health, that is!”

MomCare is a Medicaid funded program to help women access early prenatal care. Last year we served 1,854 women in Sarasota County. Besides making sure that women have prenatal care as soon as their Medicaid is active, M o m C a r e Advisors talk with moms-to-be about healthy nutrition during pregnancy, quitting smoking and breastfeeding. Of the women we served, 11.27% were Black and 20.12% Hispanic. Under the new Service Delivery Plan, we will incorporate Florida Right from the Start material which

identified seven topics important to pre, post and pregnancy health. We will also be educating

moms to be about how important it is to deliver babies after the 39th week of pregnancy. Over the years, the

Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County has partnered with other agencies and wrap around service providers to provide many services. MomCare lets our pregnant moms know what services are in the community that might help them have a happy, healthy, full term baby.

“Teri was very helpful and found me a doctor when no-one else would or could. Thank you!”

-MomCare Client

“This  is  a  brief  note to  share  just  how important  the  ‘Save My Life Program’ is. When I took the class, I  received  one-on-one instruction  for  what was to come. I was four months pregnant at the time.  By  the  time  the class  series  was  over, I  was  informed,  relaxed,  and  confident  of  the journey that laid ahead for my son and I. What  Beverly  Phelps  taught  me  was  more valuable  than  any  of  us  could  have  guessed. Because  I  had  the  training,  the  pregnancy and  thereafter  were  a  total  success.  My  son, Jeremiah,  and  I  are  both  abundantly  blessed these days. The “Save My Life” Program really did  save  my  life,  in  more  ways  than  one.  I learned how to bond with my child, and I’m still breastfeeding  -  11  months  later!  My  son  is  a picture of health, and the bond that we share, words cannot describe. I am the proudest mom out there!Thank you Save My Life! Thank you Beverly! You go girl! Teach on... “ 

Instructor Beverly Phelps demonstrates breastfeeding

techniques to July.

Lisa Bohn, Mary Belvin, Erin Ernst, Venise Green, Tina Helbig-North, Dana McCalley Not Pictured: Joy Luce

We need your help!The future of Sarasota County rests in the ability of the next generation to become productive citizens

and talented leaders. Babies who are born healthy have the greatest chance to reach these goals. Your generosity today will make a world of difference for our babies tomorrow.

• $10 Provides transportation to a prenatal care appointment• $60 Provides Quit-Smoking and Breastfeeding Incentives for one First Step Mothers and Infants Client• $250 Provides four counseling sessions for a mother experiencing Postpartum Depression• $500 Trains three community health workers to teach peers about becoming healthy before pregnancy• $1,000 Helps to sponsor the Save My Life Program for African-American families

Facility tours, class sit-ins, and client success stories are available upon request. Please call our Executive Director, Jennifer Highland, at (941) 373-7070 if you are interested in becoming a Healthy Start Donor.

Photography of Healthy Start clients was generously donated by Peter Acker. All photos are copyright 2010 Peter Acker Photography.

www.packerphoto.com

1750 17th Street, Building ASarasota, FL 34234

8 Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc. 

Annual Report

September is Infant Mortality Awareness MonthTo learn more, visit our website: www.healthystartsarasota.org