Fund for Public Health in New York/Nurse-Family Partnership
CREDIT: Irving Silverstein for the Staten Island Advance
The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a national, evidence-based nurse home visiting program for at-risk, first-time mothers. Women are recruited into the program during pregnancy and visited by a trained NFP nurse weekly or bi-weekly until their child’s second birthday. Since the program’s launch in New York City in 2003, it has expanded to all five boroughs and served 7,000 low-income families.
Results
- 93% of children born to NYC NFP mothers are up-to-date with immunizations at 24 months compared to 77% of children in NYC;
- 91% of NYC NFP mothers initiated breastfeeding compared to 83% of first-time mothers in NYC on Medicaid;
- 83% of NYC NFP mothers had no subsequent pregnancy at 18 months postpartum compared to 73% of first-time mothers in the U.S. as a whole;
- 65% of teenage NYC NFP mothers attained HS Diploma or GED compared to 50% of teenage mothers in NYC; and
- 90% of NYC NFP nurses have stayed with the program and, to expand the pool of “public health nurses” for the future, an innovative clinical rotation program was successfully launched in partnership with three NYC nursing schools.
Looking Ahead
From 2007 to 2011, the number of NYC families served by the NFP program rose by 383%. Though cuts in government funding currently present a challenge, the program maintains widespread support and aims to continue to expand services to increased numbers of eligible NYC families each year.