We’re expanding!…and other news
First 1,000 Days Suncoast Staff
We are thrilled to announce the hiring of three staff members for the initiative! Each of them possesses unique qualities and skillets that will make our partnerships with parents and professionals in the community so much stronger. Below is a little introduction to all of the new team members.
Tina Wilson was hired as Family Navigator. Tina understands the complexities of the healthcare system and is comfortable navigating challenging medical and social circumstances. She is a beloved NICU nurse; families adore her and she has had MANY comment cards from parents over the years, stating her exemplary work supporting them during such a stressful and difficult time. Tina has also worked with many Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome babies and their families. She holds two Bachelor degrees- one in Nursing and another in Health Sciences, a minor in Public Health, and is bilingual. Lastly, she has been described by her peers as a born leader and someone who was meant to do big things.
Siena Kelley was hired as Administrative Assistant. Siena worked at SMH in their Health Front division for the last six months greeting and screening guests and patients, while comforting them and guiding them to their correct destination. Siena earned her Bachelor's in Marketing while starting for the 2020 Sunshine State Conference volleyball champions. She has extensive experience using social media and a desire to work in the non-profit sector, seeing this job as an incredible opportunity to make a difference in our community. The decision to hire Siena was unanimous; she is well-spoken, upbeat, and has a knack for attention to detail. We know Siena’s marketing background, creativity and passion to help others will help enhance the initiative’s brand and relations.
Dallas Decklever was hired as the Peer Support Specialist. Dallas just exudes warmth and comfort, has a great sense of humor, and is incredibly personable. In her interview Dallas said “patience” is the most important aspect of the recovery process; you need to meet people where they are at and support them through the long journey. She has been an active volunteer in the Sarasota community for the last ten years. Due to her own lived experience, she is passionate about the vision and mission of the initiative. With her kind demeanor, we know she will be able to connect and support pregnant women and families in our region.
Mark Your Calendars!: Region-wide Trauma Informed Care Trainings
Please mark your calendars! First 1,000 Days has sponsored a region-wide Trauma Informed Care training through Resilient Retreat. There will be two tracks, clinical and non-clinical, and two opportunities to attend each series. The first non-clinical cohort will begin this fall. Please encourage your staff to place a hold on their calendars to attend the virtual event, see dates and times below.
HUGE thank you to our Professional Development workgroup co-chairs Laura Josephson with Forty Carrots Family Center, Christina Russi with Glasser/Schoenbaum Health and Human Services Center, and Jennifer Carey with Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center, and Mandy O’Malley with Resilient Retreat for their hard work in pulling this together for the community.
Enhancing Community Perinatal Mental Health Support
The Access to Care workgroup, led by Carla Johanns with Forty Carrots Family Center, Meredith Piazza with Riverview High School Teen Parent Program, and Kathrine Wiegang with CenterPlace Health, is making HUGE strides in improving mental health supports for pregnant and postpartum women in our region. Some of the barriers identified from the group made up of professionals and parents with lived experience included: limited number of psychiatrists and OBs who are comfortable prescribing psychiatric medications to pregnant and/or lactating women, infrequent screening for depression/anxiety during the perinatal period, stigma attached to reaching out for help, difficulty navigating the system, etc. The workgroups most recent/current activities are listed below:
Workgroup members Dr. Washington Hill, CenterPlace Health and Mary O’Connor, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, recently coordinated a continuing education event for community clinicians (OBs, Nurses, APRNs, PAs, Therapists, etc.) on the evaluation and management of perinatal depression. The event, sponsored by First 1,000 Days Suncoast, had over 100 attendees!
A Perinatal Mental Health Guide is currently in development. This guide will be circulated to community OB practices with quick, comprehensive mental health services available to pregnant and postpartum women. We encourage all practices and community partners to get on the Unite Us platform, this is the easiest and most efficient way to receive referrals throughout the community.
Thank you to our current workgroup members: Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, Healthy Families, Centerstone, CenterPlace Health, First Step of Sarasota, The Florida Center, Forty Carrots Family Center, Riverview High School, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Charlotte County Department of Health, Elite DNA Therapy, Samaritan Counseling Services, Sarasota County Department of Health. If anyone else would like to join this group please email Chelsea at chelsea-arnold@smh.com.
First 1,000 Days is BUILDING BRAINS!
“Language nutrition, a term created to describe language exposure that is rich in quality and quantity and delivered in the context of social interactions, is crucial for a child’s development and is strongly associated with his/her future literacy, academic achievement, and health. However, significant differences in children’s early language environments contribute to disparities in their educational and health trajectories. Interventions, including book distribution programs, coaching parents to enrich their child’s language environment, and public awareness campaigns, have all been shown to positively influence a child’s access to language-rich interactions.”
Through many state and local partnerships, and sponsorship by First 1,000 Days, Sarasota Memorial Hospital is piloting a new program empowering parents to be their child’s first teacher. The brain builder bag concept, developed by Studer Institute, includes tangible items families can use to track child development, and activities they can do to boost their babies’ brains. Another key component includes the hospital Mother Baby, Pediatric and NICU nurses educating new parents on their infant’s brain development. This process is a way to normalize and saturate the importance of screening and supporting brain development similar to other health priorities like breastfeeding, immunizations, well checkups, etc. Prior to being discharged with their new baby, parents will watch a brief video on the importance of talking, reading, singing and interacting with their child to nourish their developing brain. This ensures that on day 1 parents are given the education, tools, and resources they need to provide healthy “language nutrition” for their little bundle of joy. Thank you Dr. Pam Beitlich, Executive Director of Women and Children Services, and Mary O’Connor, Manager of Outreach, for leading this powerful and cutting-edge work! We appreciate our fabulous partners with Sarasota County Library Services, who will be donating books for the project.
The Basics Competition
The First 1,000 Days Suncoast has a friendly partner competition going on through the months of July and August. Thank you to The Haven for your recent entry! Check out their video here for some inspiration for your own organization.
#ColortheCommunity
We are continuing to Color the Community to increase awareness about First 1,000 Days and our incredible community partners. Click here to follow/like our Facebook page for the instructions on how to participate. Thank you to Harvest House, JFCS, and Mothers Helping Mothers who recently did activities with their residents/clients and/or employees. Check out the beautiful pictures below.
New Community Parenting Programs
JFCS has two new programs they are offering to parents in the community. You can find their programs and refer parents through the Unite Us platform by searching service-type Parenting Education. Please the description of the programs below.
Restoring Empowerment and Choosing Hope (REACH) – This federally funded program assists low -income, at-risk adults develop the skills they need to hone healthy relationship skills, improve parenting/co-parenting skills, and enhance skills and abilities required to gain/retain economic self-sufficiency. Skills and support are provided through the usage of evidence-based curricula and case management. REACH is also available in Spanish.
Ignite- A federally funded fatherhood program aimed at helping struggling fathers and father figures improve the parent-child relationship, sustain healthy relationships, and identify and support their economic stability and employment objectives. Through case management and an experiential curriculum, participants receive tools to improve relationship skills, build self-awareness, address emotions, promote mindful choices, and are encouraged to value themselves as fathers and as men in the world.
Partner Spotlight
This partner spotlight is LONG overdue! Paige Mouchett, Sarasota Memorial Hospital OB Program Support Coordinator, has been a key team member for First 1,000 Days. In addition to her hospital duties, Paige is often the first one to volunteer to help out with anything the initiative needs. She is a tech guru, innovative thinker, quick learner, knowledge seeker, and strong community advocate. Paige has been instrumental in helping with the Unite Us platform, full partner meetings, quality improvement projects, among many other things. Anyone who knows Paige just adores her; she is approachable, warm, and kind. Thank you Paige for your dedication to helping all families in our region.
We NEED YOUR INPUT! Community Assessments
The Sarasota County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) team is looking to collect community data on navigating services while pregnant. PLEASE the following link on your social media, newsletters, etc. and encourage your clients to provide their input https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/navigatingprenatalcareSRQ
Help spread the word! Step Up Suncoast’s Community Needs Assessment helps all non-profits serve the community better. Click here today https://stepupsuncoast.org/cna/ to make a difference. Thank you to all who have shared and participated in the efforts so far.
Meet the new First 1,000 Babies!
Congratulations to Kelly Romanoff, Innovation and Impact Officer at Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, and Maria Somera, First 1,000 Days Suncoast Parent Advisor, on their new summer additions. It is special to watch these powerhouse women setting such a great example for their little ones by giving their hearts and souls to helping all parents in the community.
Join the Network: Upcoming Unite Us Information Session
CLICK HERE to register for the virtual Unite Us Information Session on Wednesday, August 4th at 12:30pm.
Join us to connect community based organizations, healthcare systems, corporations and communities across Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, and Charlotte counties. Unite Us connects health and social care providers to improve the health of our neighbors.
Wouldn't you like to refer your clients to local providers with the click of a button? Are you tired of outdated referral list? The Unite Florida team is here to work with you, the providers, to connect our neighbors in needs to all of the services they need in the community. Now more than ever we need to get connected! This session will provide information about Unite Us, offer some open dialog to determine your goals to meet the needs of the community you serve, as well as a quick demonstration of the platform.
Calls to Action: GET INVOLVED!
Like and Follow First 1,000 Days Suncoast on Instagram and Facebook. Share content about the initiative on your page and encourage your followers to Like/Follow us!
Participate in the The Basics partner competition
Color the Community and tag the initiative!
Join a community workgroup: Click here to learn more.
Receive monthly updates about the initiative, to sign up click here.