Jenny Carson

Strong Start Maternal Child Health Care Coordinator @Access Community Health Network

Chicago, IL, US

The Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns initiative, an effort by the Department of Health and Human Services, aims to reduce preterm births and improve outcomes for newborns and pregnant women. The Strong Start effort to test new approaches to prenatal care is a four-year initiative to test and evaluate enhanced prenatal care interventions for women enrolled in Medicaid who are at risk for preterm birth. The goal of the initiative is to determine if a maternity care home approach can reduce the rate of preterm births, improve the health outcomes of pregnant women and newborns, and decrease the anticipated total cost of medical care during pregnancy, delivery, and over the first year of life for children born to mothers in Medicaid.The Care Coordinator\'s role within the Maternity care home aims at enhancing current care delivery and addressing medical, behavioral, and psychosocial factors that may be present during pregnancy and contribute to preterm-related poor birth outcomes. The care coordinator manages a high risk obstetrics patient caseload of up to 150 patients in providing services that expand access to care, improve high risk care coordination, and provide a broader array of health services.Specific skills include- Communication with a multidisciplinary team in order to implement evidence-based prenatal care guidelines, assess and address care barriers, and refer patients to individualized programs and services- Building trusting relationships with patients and their families in order to provide health education, enhance self-management, and advocate for patient needs. This includes emergency, hospitalization, and specialist follow-up through home/clinic visits as necessary- Responsible for federal data collection and reporting on quality improvement efforts, as well as documentation of all case management patient contacts in patient record according to protocols.

University of Colorado Denver

Masters of Science in Palliative Care, Palliative Care and Hospice

University of Portland

Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse

The University of Notre Dame Australia

Bachelor's degree, Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse