Guam, CNMI celebrate 3rd annual Community of Practice

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the Guam Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs conducted their 3rd Annual Community of Practice on Saipan from last July 29 to 31. The annual CoP was established to promote peer-to-peer mentorship, coordination, and alignment in home visiting efforts.

Guam MIECHV project director Margarita Gay, RN.MN, said that the event was a major success and that the participants are a good example of public health staff working in the community and promoting good health, well-being, and working together to bring healthy family beginnings to the people they serve.

The two programs share the same vision and have common goals to achieve in the Pacific Region, with the main going to create healthy families across CNMI and Guam through the use of an evidence-based Home Visiting Model from Healthy Families America.

The site visiting agenda consisted of various shadowing and round table discussions about the programs, through coordination with Project Bisita in Guam, by covering the following areas: programmatic success, challenges, and fiscal activities the upcoming planning for a Statewide Needs Assessment, data management quality improvement initiatives, and collaborative efforts in additional technical assistance requests.

All CoP participants agree that the annual CoP has impacted their approach to the work they perform. All participating teams are exposed to challenges faced by MIECHV programs in the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands, such as language barriers and cultural sensitivity. The experience and expertise that came to light from the three days spent together was invaluable, and both the CNMI and Guam teams hope to share future experiences with their counterparts in American Samoa.

The CHCC Healthy Outcomes for Maternal and Early-Childhood Visiting Program is a free, voluntary, in-home service that can support you through the joys and challenges of pregnancy and parenting. The H.O.M.E. Visiting Program supports mothers, fathers, caregivers, and their families through a range of weekly to quarterly home visits with an assigned Family Partner Advocate. The program currently has 117 enrolled families across Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, with five FPAs on Saipan and one FPA each on Tinian and Rota.

The H.O.M.E. Visiting Program can assist parents with: prenatal care planning & education, what to expect as your child grows, caring for a parent and baby’s needs, home safety measures, developmental screening and activities, job searching, continued education, and community resources families may benefit from.

Eligibility requirements are as follows:

• A standardized screening tool will be used to identify families who are eligible to enroll and benefit from the program.
• Must be a CNMI resident.
• Can enroll prenatally or with a child less than three months old

For more information, contact (670) 664-8701/02, or email mchbcnmi@gmail.com.