In the News

By Jenny Englerth

It is not an exaggeration to say that as a society, we are failing to keep our children healthy. Parents and caregivers do their best but the systems that support children’s health are poorly designed and under-resourced. School health education programs are being slashed, mental health needs are growing, the obesity epidemic is not improving, and pediatric vaccination levels are at a 30-year low.

What is happening in policy decisions on the national level is glaringly evident in our own communities.

As the president and CEO of Family First Health, I’m acutely aware of these needs. In York, where Family First Health is based, about 18 percent of children in grades K-12 are considered obese. The CDC says that number jumps to 26.2 percent for Hispanic and 24.8 percent for Black children, so it is a social justice and equity issue as well as a public health issue.

Obesity in children increases the risk for physical health issues like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, and asthma, while mentally it is associated with anxiety and depression. We can address these health risks and support our children if we, as a community, work in new and different ways with children and their families.

By providing early, hands-on education for students to make decisions that will positively impact their health, today and in the future, we can change the course at an individual and community level. Now is the time to act.

The last week in April marked Every Kid Health Week, which spotlighted the actions schools and families are taking to improve the health and wellness of their kids. Family First Health works with many school districts and specifically with the students and families of the School District of the City of York to improve the health of our children through our school-based health center at Hannah Penn K-8.

Our school-based health center team provides healthcare and health resources via our health center on the school campus, allowing students to receive medical attention from medical staff during the school day. We also have a health coach located in the school who educates students about smart eating habits, exercise, hygiene, and other health-related topics such as mental health, puberty, and sexual health and is responsive to the unique needs of the students in the school we serve.

Recently, the School District of the City of York identified an increase in vaping. Family First Health was there to step in and coordinate presentations on the risks of vaping along with alternatives for managing stress. When the school identifies a need, we are there to support them and offer our services and resources.

“The partnerships with FFH and other health agencies have provided key resources that allow trained professionals to speak to our students about health-related issues. It is an opportunity that many times parents and families miss due to a variety of barriers. The partnerships help to stop the cycle of misinformation as they are hearing information from trusted adults who are professionals in the building,” said Dr. George Fitch, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for the School District of the City of York.

Our Hannah Penn Center is York County’s only school-based health center. The medical services include medical, dental, behavioral health, and community health programs. These are also open to the public – so a mom, making an appointment for her child, can be cared for at the same location.

While it’s great to discuss the benefits of these in-school health centers on student well-being, the numbers speak for themselves. In one study, just low to moderate use of school-based health centers by students related to approximately a 33 percent lower likelihood of them dropping out of school.

At a time when parents and policymakers are looking to make schools safer spaces for students, providing them with accessible resources for healthy living is one of the easiest ways to help them.

Jenny Englerth is the president and CEO of Family First Health.

ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) – One community health program is looking to address higher mortality concerns among low-income women who feel unseen and unheard by the healthcare system. Organizers say a lot of falls back on accessibility.

“As a first time parent, you have no idea what you’re doing and you’re scared,” Hailey McKee told CBS 21 News’ Samantha York.

McKee gave birth to her daughter, Penelope, 15 months ago. She was immediately hit with the harsh reality so many other parents are facing: inflated expenses.

“$27 for a big pack of diapers that might last you a month,” McKee explained. “And that’s generic brand.”

Rising costs are straining young families. Baby formula spiked 30% in the last three years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wipes are up over 10% in price.

“How am I going to be able to do this?” McKee questioned when she learned she was pregnant.

McKee turned to Family First Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership program, which promotes health equity.

“We’re meeting these women in the places where they need it the most,” Nurse-Family Partnership Program Manager and Nurse Supervisor Lisa Lathrop explained. “When they can sometimes feel the most vulnerable.”

In Pennsylvania, over 24% of counties don’t have full access to maternity care, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. It leaves nearly 200,000 residents in need of support.

“Even though I was working, I mean, we still didn’t have much,” McKee recalled.

“Young women, in particular, I think often times women who are living with lower income, they feel very unheard and unseen in their health appointments,” Lathrop continued.

“I think a lot of times with the healthcare system that you’re just left to figure it out on your own,” McKee said.

Nurse-Family Partnership recognizes a lack of health coverage keeps low-income parents from the care they need. Instead, they’re meeting them where they are: at home.

“They’re always there,” McKee said.

“Being that we only serve first-time pregnant mothers who meet income guidelines, we’re serving people who we can make the biggest difference in their lives,” Lathrop added.

The program connects expectant mothers to a registered nurse, free of charge, who becomes their personal healthcare provider and guides them through pregnancy and the first two years of the child’s life.

“I feel like it gave me confidence, even when I was in one of my darkest times,” McKee explained. “Because you’re in survival mode.”

“They’re more motivated to provide a better life for their own child than what they might have had when they were a child,” Lathrop said.

The community health program also refers parents to other support groups to help the family become economically self-sufficient.

“Having them get a car seat for me and, you know, stuff my car full of clothes was like a huge weight off my shoulders,” McKee recalled. “Because I felt like a bad mom.”

Those behind the program say it enables those stuck in a healthcare gap to feel seen and heard.

“They have felt empowers to ask more questions of their healthcare providers,” Lathrop explained.

“You have to be your own advocate,” McKee said. “And just keep going at them until somebody hears you.”

Those interested can contact the program’s team at 717-843-6330 or 717-916-4099. They can also email dcaraballo@familyfirsthealth.org or clathrop@familyfirsthealth.org.

More information about the program can be found here.

Watch the video here

YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) – According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. has the highest mortality rate for mothers among high income countries. Black mothers are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications.

Family First Health is meeting expectant mothers in the places they need it most. Its Nurse-Family Partnership program connects mothers to a registered nurse for support through their pregnancy at no charge.

Those behind the program say a lack of health coverage is often a barrier for low-income parents to get the care they need and they often feel unseen and unheard by the healthcare system.

“Being that we only serve first-time pregnant mothers who meet income guidelines, we’re serving people who we can make the biggest difference in their lives,” said Nurse-Family Partnership Program Manager and Nurse Supervisor for Adam and York City Lisa Lathrop.

Nurse-Family Partnership services include:

• The support to have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby
• Board Certified Lactation Consultants and Certified Lactation Counselors on Staff to help with breastfeeding
• Certified Car Seat technician to assist with safe car seat installation
• Spanish speaking in-home interpreter
• The ability to learn and practice things that make you more confident as a mom, like breastfeeding, nutrition, child development, safe-sleep techniques, and much more
• Referrals for healthcare, childcare, job training, and other support services available in your community
• Support to continue your education, develop job skills, or follow your dreams for the future

Women who are pregnant with their first child, pregnant 28 weeks or less and meet income requirements are eligible.

In the Nurse-Family Partnership program, nurses are available until the child is two years old.

Those interested can contact the program’s team at 717-843-6330 or 717-916-4099. They can also email dcaraballo@familyfirsthealth.org or clathrop@familyfirsthealth.org.

More information about the program can be found here.

Watch the video here

YORK, Pa – Family First Health is raising awareness on the importance of healthcare for students for National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month

Throughout the country, there are 3,000 health centers on school grounds. One of them is the Hannah Penn Center at Hannah Penn K through Eight.

It’s York County’s only school-based health center.

More than 50% of the students at Hannah Penn are also patients of Family First Health.

Nikole Tome, the School-Based Health Center Manager at Family First Health’s Hannah Penn Center said, “The best thing is that for students, they are able to succeed in school. Obviously we need to meet those health needs so that they’re able to be the best they can be in a school setting. So we are helping to eliminate the barriers that they may have to receiving care.”

The health center is open to the community and offers a 24-hour on-call physician, language interpreters, a Health and Wellness Coach, and Community Health Workers.

It’s funded through the United Health Foundation.

Watch the video here

DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa (WHP) – Healthcare providers say inflation is fueling the access to care crisis among low-income patients.

“You have a health challenge and transportation issues or housing that is substandard, those things come together and make your health issues more challenging,” Community Progress Council President and CEO Robin Rohrbaugh said.

“If those challenges aren’t readily met, that’s going to impair how people do regarding their healthcare,” added Highmark Wholecare Chief Medical Officer Joseph Stankaitis.

“For people who are working, they’re trying to survive,” Family First Health Community Health Program Lead Celia Serrano said. “There is a huge amount of people that do not have insurance here in this community.”

Medical professionals are seeing low-income patients skip appointments they can’t afford.

“Once upon a time, I was in their shoes,” said Serrano.

She has spent the last two years at Family First Health, going into the community to connect those worried about making ends meet to care.

“For a point there, I was unemployed and I needed to be on public assistance,” Serrano explained. “So I know what a lot of this community goes through, I can relate to it.”

In York County, Serrano works with Haitian Creole patients, Hispanics, undocumented immigrants and those in the five-year waiting period of being lawfully in the U.S. She says many are unaware of the services available to them.

“One of the major barriers is language,” Serrano continued.

It’s a barrier seen at Community Progress Council, too, which also tries to streamline the process of finding insurance coverage for low-income patients.

“If you’re not feeling well and you’re trying to navigate through housing services and transportation and healthcare and food programs, you just don’t have the capacity to do it,” Rohrbaugh said.

And more health insurers are recognizing this need. Highmark Wholecare offers a Medicare Dual Special Needs non-medical package for patients who have both chronic health problems and live in poverty.

“Because the population that we serve is incredibly challenged,” Stankaitis continued.

AmeriHealth Caritas, UPMC Health Plan and Pennie insurance are among others offering more care at less cost.

“It levels the playing field,” Stankaitis added.

Serrano says, with so many patients coming in without insurance, Family First Health also offers a slide fee which allows them to pay for clinical care based on their income to address one of the biggest concerns they hear.

“They’re afraid that they cannot get quality healthcare,” she said, advocating more education on resources is needed.

Watch the video here

Today is World AIDS Day. Since 1988, December 1^st has been designated as a day to unite to end AIDS and remember those who have been lost to AIDS and HIV illnesses.

Since the first AIDS cases were diagnosed in the early 1980s, we’ve come a long way – in education and knowledge of the HIV virus but especially of the treatment options for those infected with the virus. AIDS no longer results in certain death.

But there still are challenges. Getting more people tested for one and the stigma that still exist.

On The Spark Friday, Nikki Buchanan, Case Manager Supervisor at Family First Health said there was a drop-off of testing during the COVID pandemic but more people should get tested for HIV,”The best that we can do is educate the community to let them know that it’s okay to get tested. There are ways that you can get tested where you don’t have to go into a medical facility. You can actually get a free HIV test. I get my HIV test gets delivered to your door because some individuals don’t they just don’t feel comfortable being out in a medical facility and getting tested again. It goes back to the stigma of HIV and that automatic thought that that’s a death sentence. But we do try to really educate, that it’s not a death sentence. We’ve come such a far way since the 1980s what people thought of HIV and AIDS. So in 2022, we have made so many advances that we just want to want to educate the community that it’s okay to get tested, it’s okay to talk about your your situation and your personal life. And we don’t think of you any differently.”

Dr. Jarrett Sell, a family physician who specializes in HIV treatment and prevention at Penn State Hershey Medical Center was also on The Spark. He indicated treating AIDS has progressed significantly,”I think the complex regimens of medications that folks had to take 20, 30 years ago, you know, that often caused a lot of side effects and were, you know, multiple 20 or 30 pills a day was very difficult. I think anybody would have a hard time sort of adhering to a regimen like that. Today, treatment is much simpler. So not only do we have very effective treatments, but most of the folks that I treat, you know, are taking a single pill once a day, which is often very well tolerated. So, you know, it ends up being HIV treatment can end up being similar to high blood pressure treatment or diabetes treatment or in some cases even simpler than some of those other chronic diseases that we see very, very commonly. And I think where the difficulty lies is really, you know, many of us have other things going on in our lives.”

Listen to the podcast here