Presenting Authors: Susan Tew, MPH, BSN, RN, Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership program with the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium

ABSTRACT

Background: National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) implements the Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) and the Mabel Morris Parents as Teachers program (MM-PAT), which together comprise one of the largest maternal-child home visiting programs in Pennsylvania. The programs serve over 700 mothers and their babies annually. Many legal problems, related to Medicaid, food stamps, housing, and domestic violence, among others, are strongly related to health.

Objectives: The Nursing-Legal Partnership (NLP) is an innovative program that seeks to improve maternal-child health, remedy unhealthy living conditions, and maintain access to public benefits by providing direct legal services, pursuing a policy agenda, and forging a path to sustainable reimbursement. NLP integrates legal aid services into a NFP and PAT implementation site, using a framework similar to the Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) model. While MLPs have existed for years in hospitals and health centers, the NLP project transforms the model in a nurse home visiting context.

Methods: Evaluators examine quantitative and qualitative metrics related to maternal risk, maternal stress, nurse home visitor job satisfaction, and economic impact. RESULTS: By integrating legal services into evidence-based early childhood programs, NLP seeks to improve health outcomes, lower costs, and enhance client experience. Now in its second year of operation, NLP preliminary findings and nurse-attorney collaboration will be discussed.

Implications: In distressed communities, unaddressed social determinants of health interfere with nursing practice, as home visitors spend more time on case management and less time delivering evidence-based curricula. NLP is a tool to mitigate risk factors related to maternal and child health.

Authors: Katherine Kinsey, PhD; Susan Tew, MPH, BSN, RN; Jordan Mickman, JD; Rachel Mark, JD; Gabriella Kim, BSN, RN, IBCLC; Vikrum Vishnubhakta, MPH, MBA; Shannon Mace, JD, MPH; Daniel G. Atkins, JD; and Ann Ritter, JD.