In any circumstance, becoming a parent is daunting and isolating as well as exciting and joyful. First time parents and parents experiencing housing instability, behavioral health symptoms, a medically complex pregnancy or their own disability often experience struggle and isolation more than anticipation and joy.
Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) home visiting nurses step into that struggle alongside parents every day.
"Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is an evidence-based, community health program with 45 years of research showing significant improvements in the health and lives of first-time mothers and their children affected by social and economic inequality." NFP Factsheet
Alicia Kreutzer, Program Manager for Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) in Spokane County has been an NFP home visitor herself so she understands intimately the work it takes to make community-wide impact one relationship at a time.
I cannot say enough amazing things about Nurse-Family Partnership and the group of people I’m so blessed to call coworkers and friends.
That impact has been recognized by Washington State Department of Child, Youth and Family as well as the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. NFP is one of four In Home Parent Skill Based child safety programs that are designated as Most Supported by evidence.
An integral part of the home visiting relationship is the parallel process. The relationship between supervisor and home visitor trickles down to the home visitor and the parent, which trickles down to the parent and their relationship to their infant.
NFP home visitors build relationship by making space for the parent as the subject matter expert on their own experience and values. Visiting nurses contribute their expertise, but the focus is on listening, not lecturing.
There is so much power in the relationship and the “being-with”. I know that in this work we all have times where we feel like we’re not doing enough. I have to remind myself and the team of the power of relationship and how much just showing up means for the families we're so fortunate to partner with.
NFP home visitors frame the struggles that may bring parents into the program as systemic issues to be addressed in relationship with the community rather than personal deficits experienced in isolation.
The biggest challenges to relationship are unsafe, unequitable, and unstable environments. Social and civic engagement empowers clients in a way where their voices can be heard and true change can occur.
Relationship requires trust, and that means meeting parents where they are emotionally and mentally and being present alongside them. Nurse home visitors also meet parents where they are physically most comfortable - out in the community at coffee shops or other appointments, or in their homes.
Questions and Answers:
Q: How does it feel to have the Nurse Family Partnership team recognized as a Hope Community Champion?
A: It feels great! This job is where passion and skill align. The amount of passion our team brings to the families we serve is astounding. We get to be a part of someone’s life journey and trajectory in a very sacred way. Having that recognized in at a community level will hopefully help sustain and expand home visiting to allow others the same opportunity.
Q: What value would your team and your parents find in meeting with, sharing and learning from other HOPE Community Champions?
A: It’s necessary and a huge focus for our program moving forward. Increasing our knowledge of social and emotional growth allows us to model and pass on skills and knowledge to our clients and their families.
Get to know NFP:
- Nurse Family Partnership Program Information | SRHD
- For parent self-referral or provider referral: Nurse-Family Partnership Referral Form - Spokane (office.com)
- Data on the efficacy of NFP: NFP Factsheet
- Spokesman-Review article including the perspective of Spokane area parents: Nurse-family partnership program that supports soon-to-be mothers will expand in Spokane
- Perspectives from parents nationwide: Stories from NFP Parents
- Link to Federal Most Supported designation for NFP: Title IV- E Prevention Services Clearinghouse
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