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The purpose of the Hospital Liaison Program is to promote the Maternal, Child and Family Support Network within Palm Beach County Hospitals. The Maternal Child and Family Support Network serves to increase positive birth and developmental outcomes for infants and young children, and provides direct access to health and related resources in Palm Beach County. Hospital Liaisons further support the following goals of the Maternal, Child, Family Support Network: Increased Client participation, decreased delays in administering services and the promotion of enhanced services to clients.
The hospital liaison enhancement maximizes the efficacy of the Network and more specifically, the nursing component, in meeting each family's individual needs. Families of every baby born in Palm Beach County are eligible to receive MCF Support Network services, which include free home nursing visits - the focus of which is to provide education, support, and reassurance for all families with newborns. Liaisons visit with newly delivered Moms and personally explain all the benefits of the MCF Support Network. The presence of liaisons within the hospital environment has dramatically improved screening rates thus linking far more families to services, which promotes the healthiest environments for our families.
Secondary goals include the continued objective of developing stronger relationships with the administration and staff within the hospitals, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the needs and working mechanisms within each system and ongoing education within each facility.
The presence of liaisons has improved the overall knowledge about The MCF Support Network among the hospital staff members, which is fundamental to promoting the program and the community's awareness of the benefits of services. Currently, liaisons are positioned within all ten Palm Beach County maternity hospitals. Endowing the hospitals with liaisons has further heightened the community's awareness of the Maternal, Child, Family Support Network's resolute goal of improving the overall well being of children and families in Palm Beach County.
The liaisons are responsible for promotion, education, tracking, appropriate referral, and reporting. When a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is on premise the liaison attends discharge planning rounds and follow-up's with each MCF Support Network client to determine when a baby will be discharged, as well as any other vital information which will assist the Healthy Start/ Healthy Families Nurses in best serving the needs of the families.
© Healthy Mothers / Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County, Inc. |
