Mothers with newborns in the Northwest Corner will be eligible for a new program that will offer three home visits by a registered nurse in a program offered by the Community Health and Wellness Center, a federally qualified healthcare center with facilities in Torrington, Winsted and North Canaan.
The program will be free to new mothers living in the 25-town region, regardless of income.
Known as Family Bridge, the new initiative will partner with the region’s hospitals that will inform CHWC when a mother has given birth. The mothers don’t need to give birth in a local hospital but must live in the 25-town region, which typically sees about 1,100 births annually.
“We know that there are mothers who give birth in New York, in Massachusetts, but as long as they reside in one of those 25 towns they’re eligible,” said Michelle Jose, a registered nurse herself who will manage the program that will include three registered nurses, two community health workers and administrative staff.
Hospitals targeted for participation include Charlotte Hungerford in Torrington, Sharon Hospital, UCONN Farmington and UCONN Waterbury and St. Mary’s in Waterbury.
“Every new family needs this support, not just economically disadvantaged ones,” Jose said.
“It’s a very time limited program. We are typically only seeing families in that first 30 days around birth,” she said. “A lot can go wrong in those early days following birth.”
“The average visits are upwards of two hours in the home. So that’s two hours with a nurse answering questions you may have. Questions about breast feeding or formula feeding. You’re really getting that one-to-one,” she said.
Jose said the evidence is very clear that if you have a home nurse come in during that initial 30 days you’re going to catch issues, such as mood disorders, when hypertension has persisted, or maybe the mother is feeling socially isolated or has an infection.
“The ER is the last place you want to end up after you have delivered a newborn,” Jose said.
The Family Bridge program can help with questions about feeding, caring for a newborn, and provide support and education and help route the new mother to support groups.
“Bringing a newborn home is a profoundly tender experience, filled with immense joy, but also quiet anxieties, sleep-deprived nights, and endless questions,” CHWC stated in announcing the program.
Community health workers are also part of the program. New mothers will be eligiblefor up to six months of support, whether it’s accessing healthcare systems, finding food or housing, or getting children enrolled in health insurance.
The Family Bridge program plans to launch in March 2027. In addition to primary care, CHWC has a long list of medical services that include women’s health, pediatrics, telemedicine, behavioral health, dental, pharmacy, home visits and others, as well as providing transportation for those in need and even a food pantry. The agency operates in towns in the Northwest Corner and in seven Torrington schools, three Region One schools and has a mobile health clinic.
CHWC’sprogram is funded by a federal Rural Health Transformation Project grant at $1.8 million per year for five years and is in partnership with the United Way of Northwest Connecticut and the hospitals.
