Lancaster County’s Nurse Family Partnership recognized the hard work and accomplishments of more than 90 young mothers at a graduation ceremony Wednesday at Longs Park.
“We love celebrating our moms,” said Dawn Horst, Manager of Women and Children’s Community Health at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, the organization that manages the program locally.
The Nurse Family Partnership, or NFP, serves low-income first-time parents and their families from pregnancy through the first two years of the child’s life. The goals are threefold:
- Improve pregnancy outcomes by helping women alter their health-related behaviors.
- Improve child health and development by guiding parents on how to provide more responsible and competent care for their children.
- Improve families’ economic self-sufficiency by helping parents develop a vision for their own future, plan subsequent pregnancies, continue their education and find work.
LG Health and United Way of Lancaster County partnered more than two decades ago to launch NFP in Lancaster County.
United Way provides fiduciary support, while LG Health implements the programming. United Way was recently approved to receive a $1.7 million grant annually over the next the next five years.
“This grant is our largest single expenditure. It is that core to our systemically focused impact work,” said Aiza Ashraf, United Way of Lancaster County’s Director of Equity and Impact.
Nurse Family Partnership “is a place where some of the most liberal and conservative political voices come together and support the incredible work,” United Way of Lancaster County President and CEO Kevin Ressler said. “We are always looking for areas where United Way can live up to our name, finding uniform polices that advance the concerns of those with the greatest barriers to long-term success.”
On Wednesday, mothers and their children enjoyed activities based on the popular children’s book, “The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.” They had a chance to have dinner and get their pictures taken.
Graduates received a financial gift from United Way of Lancaster County as well as sets of children’s books published by Chick-fil-A, donated by the Manheim Township Chick-fil-A Leader Academy.
“I think it’s important they have that stable support,” Horst said. “To have that nurse connected with them, it really means a lot.”
“My experience went really well,” NFP graduate Christina Mulligan said. “They treat us like family, and I wish it never ended.”
Lancaster County’s NFP is one of 21 statewide. NFP operates in 40 U.S. states, and the organization estimates that every $1 invested saves $5.70 in future social service costs.
