S Health - Planning Grant and Equipment and Program Improvement Grants from the Orange County Partnership for Young Children through the state's "Smart Start" program

Browse Search

19 As a public health nurse working in a middle school and a high school 1 in the county I coordinate the prenatal, postnatal and arentin P g (0-age ge 4) education of the expectant teens and the teen parents. This includes connectin g them with medical care, emotional support systems, community resources and educational and career opportunities. I am the facilitator for a monthly small rou for g P expectant teen mothers and fathers which meets to hear prenatal and infant development educational offerings. Together with the school system y health educator, I co--facilitate the Young Parents Support Group which also meets monthly for topics on infant and child care, specific parenting subjects and reproductive health. Weekly visits to the nurse' s office are not uncommon. As mandated by the Standards and Practices of the National School Nurse Association I develop an individual health plan for each expectant teen,,--young _ ,--.y g parent and infant or child. After an initial assessment (yearly_ or at -birth) , I choose the appropriate nursing diagnoses, interventions and expected outcomes and then proceed to implement them with evaluation at timely intervals. As the expectant teens deliver, I am the case manager for each: requesting homebound instruction and generally acting as liaison between hospital, school and family. In this role I also home visit each new family unit. Close collaboration is maintained with the Health Department, Adolescent Parenting Program, School Health Educator, Area Hospital School teachers, Division of Social Services , Adolescents-in--Need Project, Adolescent Education Scholarship Fund and orange Congregation in Mission Day Care Center. Up to the present writing, I have done all of this without the help of a computer or printer. It takes a large amount of time to organize, type and develop. A computer and printer would allow me to improve the quality of my services to teen parents and their children in the following ways. 1 . Allow more quality time in one--on-one counseling in parenting Skills as well as small group activity, 2. Develop a database for each pregnant teen, young parent and infant/child, documenting demographic information, appointments, day care plans, education needed and received and including the individual health plan for each. Referrals to community resources, and participation in the various groups plus academic schedule and expectations all in one place. 3 . Consolidate five notebooks of infant care and child development information into manageable categories with ability to print out appropriate educational material.