43
CenteringPregnancy program changes prenatal care, health commissioner says
AUSTINTOWN
Patricia Sweeney, Mahoning County health commissioner, praised the upcoming opening Oct. 7 of the CenteringPregnancy program by Mercy Health at its St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, Belmont Avenue, Youngstown.
Speaking during Wednesday’s meeting of the county board of health, Sweeney said the opening of the program at its Women’s Care Center Mercy Health, formerly Humility of Mary Health Partners, has changed the model for prenatal health care for women.
Under the CenteringPregnancy program, rather than only a one-on-one visit with their doctor, groups of up to a dozen women in similar stages of pregnancy meet together for prenatal visits and to learn about health needs and how to have a healthy pregnancy. The women become a social support network for one another, Sweeney said.
Mercy Health said that through the program, women are empowered to choose health-promoting behaviors that lead to fewer pre-term births, increased knowledge about pregnancy and parenting, increased breastfeeding and better prenatal care.
“Decades of research shows that lower rates of prematurity and birth weight also lower the infant-mortality rate,” Sweeney said.
In other business, the county health department already has received inquiries after rolling out its participation in Project DAWN, an opioid-overdose education and naloxone distribution program, said Sweeney.
Under the program, individuals at-risk for opioid overdose and people who know someone who is at-risk for opioid overdose, can receive a naloxone kit. naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose when administered in time, she said.
At-risk individuals include those who are in recovery for opioid addiction and those who are actively using opioids. Project DAWN naloxone kits are distributed by the health department by appointment only.
Program participants must first receive education on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose, how to respond to an overdose by calling 911 and giving rescue breaths and how to administer naloxone as a nasal spray. At the conclusion of the 45 minute education session, participants are given a free kit containing two doses of naloxone, Sweeney said.
For information or to schedule an appointment for Project DAWN, call 330-270-2855, ext. 125.