New program targets early intervention for Hoosier moms with substance use disorder
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Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana is using a three-year, $2.8 million grant to create a program designed to support pregnant women throughout Indiana affected by substance use disorder.
The not-for-profit says the funding from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation will help establish the Fresh Start Connect program, which aims to create a critical care pathway to improve maternal health through early diagnosis, intervention, treatment and aftercare.
“We’re looking at how do we ensure that women who are pregnant and have substance use disorder are able to receive treatment as early as possible, and one of the ways to do that is to screen women for substance use disorder and then be able to refer them directly into a program, once we see that they’ve screened positive for that,” said Sayward Salazar, vice president of behavioral health for the organization.
Salazar told Inside INdiana Business one of the key elements of the program is providing support for moms after they give birth.
“After someone goes through treatment, has their child, is in postpartum period, we sort of send them out on their own. We try and stay in contact, but there’s not a lot of services to wrap around them,” she said. “So we are offering family coaches. Those are home based case managers who can go visit in the home. They can help them with getting to appointments, making sure that they’re attending their appointments, any follow up visits that need to happen.”
Additionally, the Fresh Start Connect program will have registered nurses who can come to a mother’s home and do physical health assessments and screenings.
The organization cites data from the Indiana Department of Health’s 2022 Maternal Mortality Annual Report, which showed that substance use disorder was the top reason for the 40% increase in maternal deaths in Indiana from 2019 to 2020.
“One of the things that came out quite a bit was that that lapse in service in that postpartum period, and so there were a lot of folks that missed a mental health and substance use appointments in that period,” Salazar said. “So we’re really trying to close that gap…to be that support for them during that time period to ensure that we don’t see a lapse in their substance use treatment, their mental health treatment, and those medications that are really important for them to be able to stay healthy for their child.”
Implementing the Fresh Start Connect program
The organization is currently in negotiations with three health networks in the state, and through those partnerships, a team of registered nurse community educators will be formed to do comprehensive screening of all pregnant women.
The names of the health systems are not yet being disclosed as the partnerships have not been finalized.
“We will be able to take [the screening results] from them and help those clients find treatment, whether that treatment is with us or another agency,” Salazar said. “As most people know, addiction treatment is very individualized. So we’re going to do what the client wants and what they need and what’s best for them.”
Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana currently operates four Fresh Start Recovery Centers in Indianapolis, Columbus, Evansville and Winchester, which serve as residential treatment centers for pregnant women and mothers with substance use disorder.
Salazar noted that the centers allow mothers to keep their children with them while they undergo treatment.
In addition to reducing the overall maternal and infant mortality rate in Indiana, the organization is focusing on reducing low birth weight among children through early intervention.
“We want to see more healthy babies born at a higher birth weight,” said Salazar. “We also want to reduce C-section rates, And we’re doing that by providing some doula services in our program with us to be a support for moms during their pregnancy and during delivery.”
Another piece of the program is to address tobacco use in pregnancy, which is directly related to low birth weight.
Salazar said the not-for-profit hopes the Fresh Start Connect connect program can serve as a model that can be implemented everywhere.
“Our plan is to bring this statewide as we continue to build it and grow and create those relationships,” she said. “As we start to see some of those goals be met, we want to be able to offer this to a wider range of folks throughout the state.”
Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana has offices throughout Indiana and Ohio. The organization provides a variety of services for veterans, individuals struggling with mental health and substance use disorders, those returning from prison, and people experiencing homelessness.