Westside Health Ambassadors on the Move to Help Families During the Pandemic

The Family Health Ambassador Program at Westside Family Healthcare has pivoted their service delivery to meet the needs of our community participants and the challenges that are occurring as a result of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, we conducted in-person outreach in local communities within Kent County and Sussex County. We visited local WIC offices, pediatrics offices, OB-GYN offices, and schools, as well as other organizations within the local communities — sharing information about the various services available in the community and about the home visiting programs. We hosted Lunch & Learn sessions, where the participants could learn about various topics related to their pregnancy and much more.

Since the pandemic, we continue to provide one-on-one safe-sleep and car-seat safety training. We prepare Baby Care Packages for prenatal patients and caregivers (consisting of diapers, baby wipes, detergent, and health and home visiting information). We continue to have our Lunch & Learn sessions, but now they are hosted virtually via Zoom. Our virtual Lunch & Learn sessions have been successful. As an icebreaker, we have a scavenger hunt — we ask the participants to find a number of items in their home. The participant who returns to their Zoom camera with the most items within the one-minute time period wins. The moms and caregivers have been really excited to participate, especially if they win the prize. Some of the topics that we have covered are mental health in the midst of a pandemic, different stages of labor and delivery, car seat safety, and how to eat healthy.

Submitted by:

Stephanie Cantres
Family Health Ambassador

Westside Family Healthcare
1020 Forrest Ave.
Dover, DE 19904
Phone: 302-678-4622 ext. 1529
Fax: 302-265-2492
Stephanie.Cantres@Westsidehealth.org