Photo by Darrin Phegley
The Deaconess Foundation is focused internally on ways to help Deaconess Health System’s patients and employees. From funding large pieces of equipment to purchasing teddy bears for pediatrics in the emergency room, their work revolves around helping those in need. “It is quite rewarding and lots of fun!” expressed Deaconess Foundation Executive Director, Lance Wilkerson.
In 2022, Henderson lost the lives of four infants within six weeks. It became a mission of the Deaconess Foundation to always have that number at 0. They were determined to figure out what they could do to help. After the Henderson community experienced so much loss, Lance and Linda White, Deaconess Hospital Chief Administrative Officer, sat down to discuss what had happened. They spent time brainstorming on what their foundation could do to help. What they found was many of the mothers did not have resources to help them in their new journey of motherhood. Lance explained it wasn’t just about putting together a program and raising money to go towards that program. It was about truly getting involved from the moment a woman finds out she is expecting until her child reaches toddlerhood. Providing support throughout the journey was their number one priority.
They decided to set a goal of $100,000 ($20,000 in 5 years) to help parents who can’t afford a good car seat or portable crib (Pack ‘n Play). Currently, they are at $70,000 towards their goal thanks to amazing donations they have received. They were gifted two large, private donations from mothers in Evansville who heard about Henderson’s loss, and special gifts from the Partnership of Women (POW) and River View Coal, LLC to name a few. But this was only a piece of their idea. They didn’t want to only purchase items needed. They wanted to bring on the educational component for new mothers as well, and this is where the perfect partnership formed.
The Perfect Partnership
Marsha’s Place, a pregnancy resource center, has been serving the community and surrounding counties for over 30 years, and the Henderson community has supported their services every step of the way. When Deaconess was brainstorming how they could best benefit the mothers and families in our community, reaching out to Marsha’s Place was an easy decision. “Our relationship with Marsha’s Place gelled immediately. They are so good to work with. Our ideas, our vision are so aligned,” said Lance. Both organizations had their first meeting in November 2022 and the Safe Babies program launched in February 2023.
Marsha’s Place had previously met a representative from the Deaconess Foundation in the summer of 2022 through an event. The representative had come to Marsha’s Place and took a tour and saw what they offered. At the same time, Marsha’s Place was talking to several nurses at Deaconess about prenatal classes because there were no in-person birthing classes offered in Henderson. Those discussions were going on simultaneously and somewhere along the way those became one thing, and it all united.
“When Deaconess approached us with this opportunity to work together, we were thrilled to partner with them. Our interests are perfectly aligned in this area. We want babies in our community to be safe at home and on the go, and we want to help moms and dads flourish in their responsibilities. We’re excited to be working with the great folks at Deaconess because we truly believe we can do more good together than we could do separately,” stated Jared Marshall, Executive Director of Marsha’s Place.
The Safe Babies Program
Safe Babies: Secure at Home and On the Go is a Deaconess Foundation initiative made to help with both safe sleeping habits and car seat needs in Henderson, Webster and Union counties.
Families are connected to Deaconess Henderson Hospital Case Management to determine eligibility for the program, in which they may receive a portable crib and/or infant car seat. The goal of this program is to be a resource for families by offering in-person classes throughout the pregnancy to better prepare families for their precious little one and to then continue their education through Marsha’s Place by enrolling in their “Earn While You Learn” program. The first Safe Babies class is taught at Marsha’s Place because many women enrolled in Safe Babies find out they are pregnant at Marsha’s Place. They felt it would be a good way to introduce mothers to Deaconess Henderson in an environment they know and are comfortable with. Then the second two classes are taught at Deaconess Henderson Hospital. These classes include: Healthy Me, Hungry Baby and How To Prepare. Both of these programs are free to those who are qualified.
The Collaboration: Earn While You Learn
Marsha’s Place has been offering their “Earn While You Learn” program for years. However, with their new partnership with Deaconess Henderson Hospital, the hope is their clients who deliver at Deaconess Henderson will be provided with a portable crib and infant car seat through the Safe Babies program and then as the client continues the education in the Earn While You Learn (EWYL) program they can earn a convertible car seat through Marsha’s Place. Clients are eligible for diapers and wipes each week based on their completion of educational videos and quizzes geared specifically towards their needs. The videos are 15-20 minutes long, and Marsha’s Place is able to see how many videos and/or quizzes have been completed. A client is considered “active” in the program by committing to complete 2 videos a week and in-person classes as they become available. Parents also have the opportunity to shop the boutique for items they are in need of such as clothing, shampoos, lotions, etc. “We let them know from the time their baby is born until the time they are out of diapers they can come to Marsha’s Place once a week for diapers and wipes as long as they are actively receiving education. That is the one big thing we offer. Along with Safe Babies, we didn’t want to duplicate services because that’s a waste of resources so we encouraged them to get the Safe Babies classes and infant car seat through the hospital and continue with us and get the convertible car seat when their baby grows out of the infant seat,” explained Christi Bailes, Client Services Director at Marsha’s Place.
For someone who is planning to give birth at Deaconess Henderson, the ideal flow would be:
Marsha’s Place sees them first, and they provide the client with the list of doctors by connecting them to Deaconess and Safe Babies. The client will go through the Safe Babies process and after they give birth, Deaconess Henderson will refer them back to Marsha’s Place to continue their education through the “Earn While You Learn” program. Whether a mother goes to an OB-GYN at Deaconess Henderson first or finds out they are pregnant at Marsha’s Place first, they are referred to one another and work together.
Jared explained, “It’s great for us because one of the best services we provide is connecting them to a local doctor for ongoing care. I didn’t know before working here that some clients have never been to an OB during their pregnancy and show up at the hospital to deliver their baby.” Getting the first doctor’s appointment set up is a big deal, and Marsha’s Place is grateful they are able to help their clients with this first step. “Keeping our babies safe is vital to our community and through these two programs joining forces I believe we are making a difference,” expressed Christi.
With “Earn While You Learn,” the videos are the foundational educational piece of the program, but in-person classes are also offered as part of the program. There is value in the in-person classes to create relationships. Masha’s Place recently formed a partnership with a program at IVY Tech Community College where professors and students will come to Marsha’s Place twice a month and teach classes upstairs from 11am – 1pm. For moms who work during the day, they are encouraged to attend a class – even if they can only come during their lunch hour. It’s a great way to build connections with other moms. “The heart of the program is continuing education and relationship building,” explained Christi.
The Launch and Future of Safe Babies
The Safe Babies program launched in February 2023, and one mother enrolled around the time of the press conference. Since then, there have been 6 mothers who have completed the program since its launch.
Marsha’s Place has also noticed a difference since they have had more strict guidelines of continual education. More structure has grown the program. “We want to partner with clients to help them feel equipped and confident in their responsibilities as mom and dad,” said Jared.
The equipment is kept ready for newborns in need, and the parents are shown how to install and use both the car seat and portable crib before leaving the hospital. By participating in this program, mothers and parents have the relationships and resources needed both throughout their pregnancy and after delivery. “The community and support system that comes with it is one of the best things we can offer people,” said Jared.
For those interested in making a donation towards this program, they may visit deaconess.com/safebabies and donate. This money goes directly to Henderson to restrict those dollars to where the donor wants them to go.
Lance stated, “We understand some are hesitant to reach out, but we want to make sure they feel comfortable to do so. The Henderson community is very fortunate to have someone and an entity like Marsha’s Place because that’s not true everywhere. To do what they do is amazing, and I think that’s why it’s worked. As successful as Henderson has been, we would like to do this in some of our other Deaconess locations as we see a need but Henderson was perfectly rolled out due to our great staff at Henderson and Marsha’s Place and is the perfect template to work from.”
Join our list
Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.
Share Your Comments & Feedback