NURSE-FAMILY
PARTNERSHIP
Bright Start. Big Difference.
At Bright Start, we are here to empower you and support your goals, through pregnancy and beyond, to create nurturing home environments. Bright Start can make a big difference in your pathway to becoming the best mom you can be!
First-time moms can enroll anytime during pregnancy. Once enrolled, you receive support from your own personal nurse until your first child is age two. Participation in Bright Start is voluntary and free. It’s designed to fit varied schedules and allows for personal preferences and needs.
“Thank you for everything. You have made my experience with my child more fulfilling and less complicated. Advice about life in general has been helpful, too!” -Client
Support for Mom
Bright Start is a free, community-based, personal nurse visitation program that utilizes the Nurse Family Partnership evidence-based model. Balancing research and proven results with a trusting relationship, Bright Start offers first-time moms the pathway to give their child the best possible start.
First-time moms can enroll and be connected with their own personal nurse anytime in their pregnancy. Your personal nurse continues to provide support until your child is age two.
The nurse will nurture you by sharing parenting information, such as nutrition, prenatal care, home safety and creating a positive home environment. What your nurse brings to the visits is up to you and your hopes and plans for the future. Your nurse will walk alongside you through experiences such as goal-setting, building a support system, addressing childcare options and even job training.
Participation in Bright Start is voluntary and free. It is designed to fit varied schedules and allows for personal preferences and needs.
Support for Baby
Doing what is best for baby from the very beginning is a primary goal of Bright Start!
To help their babies, we offer expectant moms these services:
- Home visits (or location of your choice)
- Prenatal and maternal health assessments
- Health, safety, and nutrition education
- Infant/child health assessments
- Early childhood education
- Infant/child developmental assessments
- Parenting education
- Mental health services
- Special events
Support for Families
Bright Start networks with other community agencies to link families with resources, including:
- Prenatal and postpartum medical care
- Pediatric medical care
- Family planning
- Early childhood programs
- Educational opportunities
- Substance abuse treatment
- Financial assistance
- Job training
- Housing
Helping First-Time Parents Succeed
Bright Start implements the NFP model of nursing. NFP has been carefully tested during nearly 30 years of ongoing, longitudinal, randomized trials. These scientifically controlled studies have found consistent and dramatic benefits for first-time mothers and their children.
NFP focuses on accomplishing three goals:
- Improve pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in preventative health practices, including obtaining thorough prenatal care from their healthcare providers, improving their diet, and reducing their use of cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal substances
- Improve child health and development by helping parents provide responsible and competent care for their children
- Improve economic self-sufficiency of the family by helping parents develop a vision for their own future, plan future pregnancies, and continue their education
Outcomes include:
- Improved prenatal health
- Fewer childhood injuries
- Fewer subsequent pregnancies
- Increased intervals between births
- Increased maternal employment
- Improved school readiness
