Samaritan Health Services – Samaritan Maternity Connection

What is it?

Currently operational at four Samaritan Health Services hospitals, the free program provides bilingual, culturally competent, and age-appropriate care and screenings for pregnant women through the Samaritan Maternity Connection. Maternity care coordinators also offer social support by referring clients to GED programs at the local college, assisting with enrollment in food stamps and Medicaid, and making referrals to the community action agency for housing issues, county maternal child health programs and many other organizations. In addition, they conduct parenting classes and offer nutrition/healthy eating classes.

Who is it for?

All pregnant women in the hospital’s service area

Why do they do it?

The program started in 1997 to address the need to improve stable birth outcomes in the area.

Impact

In 2016, nearly 1,300 women and teenage girls were provided with prenatal risk assessments, screening and enrollment in Medicaid, referral to social services and counseling or treatment for alcohol, drug and tobacco use. Among program participants, the number of women delivering pre-term and low-birth-weight babies decreased.

Contact: Julie Manning
Vice President, Marketing, Public Relations & Development
Telephone: 541-768-4172
Email: juliem@samhealth.org