How We Do Our Work
Baltimore Medical System (BMS) serves as the lead agency for Patterson Park North & East B’more for Healthy Babies (PPNE BHB) initiative. The PPNE BHB Team is composed of Community Health Workers and Outreach Workers from the communities we serve, under the direction of the Director of Maternal and Child Health and Multicultural Programs. Our Community Collaborative of nine partner organizations meets monthly to identify needs in the community, promote referrals among partners, and share recommendations from the Fetal-Infant Mortality Review. We also convene a wider meeting of the Neighborhood Action Team that brings together residents, partner organizations, and others to rally around a common action, community initiative, or legislation.
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PPNE BHB’s Community Health Workers connect families to group support programs and services and provide regularly scheduled programs in both English and Spanish around pregnancy, parenting, and breastfeeding. We tailor our outreach to address the needs of residents related to maintaining confidentiality, accessing public benefits, and overcoming language barriers.
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Members of the PPNE BHB Team and the Collaborative serve on a number of BHB Coalitions, the Core Implementation Team, and the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review.
What We Do
Some of our ongoing activities include:
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Outreach to promote access to prenatal care and primary care services, and community resources
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Moms Clubs (both Spanish and English clubs) for prenatal education
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B’more Fit for Healthy Babies (fitness and nutrition for Spanish-speaking post-partum mothers)
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Parenting classes and events utilizing the ‘Circle of Security’ and the ‘Parent Café’ curricula
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Breastfeeding support groups
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Yearly community festival, called ‘BabyFest,’ in partnership with the Collaborative
What We’ve Accomplished
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Sustained decrease in sleep-related infant deaths since 2011
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Sustained decrease in infant mortality since 2011
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Celebrated annual BabyFest for seven consecutive years
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Maintained core team members and relationships with Collaborative members for 9 years
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Established a leadership pipeline for participants in B’more Fit, who serve as the core planning team for the program
Who is at the Table
Community Collaborative Members
Baltimore Healthy Start • Baltimore Medical System • Centro SOL • Green and Healthy Homes Initiative • Johns Hopkins WIC • Judy Center at John Ruhrah • Patterson Park Public Charter School • St. Vincent de Paul Head Start
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Supporting Agencies
Baltimore City Health Department • Baltimore City Fire Department • B’more for Healthy Babies Faith-based Initiative • Family League of Baltimore City