Casa de los Niños expands its Nurse-Family Partnership program to support more Tucson mothers and their families. The program brings resources and support from a registered nurse to mothers because we all know that in unity there is strength.
Marissa Martinez discovered the program at Tucson Medical Center after giving birth to her daughter Lily.
“I feel like I can never go on enough about how much this program has helped me, my family and Lily," said Martinez.
Traditionally, the program provided support to first-time mothers through home visitations from a registered nurse. Audrey Levy, nurse supervisor for the program, says the expansion, called NFPx, allows moms to sign up at any time during their pregnancy and is not limited to first-time moms.
“Now, we can enroll any pregnant woman who meets our income guidelines," Levy said.
Levy says Casa de los Niños has the only expanded program for NFP in the state. The services can extend to the other children in a household, something that wasn’t available before.
“The nurse serves the family not only with the traditional program and the regular assessments in education and referrals and resources that go to both mother and child, but also other children in the home," said Levy.
Martinez recalls the moment when she needed help after Lily had a seizure at just one month old.
“So, the first person that I called was Beverly to say, like, hey, is this what I'm seeing? Am I right or anything? She's like, just go straight to the hospital. If there's nothing wrong, then there's nothing wrong. If there's something, then you caught it. So, we went to the hospital and sure enough, she was diagnosed with multi-cystic leukomalacia," Martinez said.
Martinez's RN, Beverly Abrigo, says RNs are trained to work closely with the mother throughout her pregnancy up until the child is two years old.
“And I do recall that very moment when Marissa had contacted me and it was scary but I wanted her to know that there are services to help," said Abrigo.
Currently, Casa de los Niños serves 150 families at any given time. Not only helping moms with parenting education, but also with their personal goals.
You can find more details about the expansion here.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
