Community Outreach

1200 Spartanburg Highway, Suite 100
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 692-4223

Maternal Health

Maternity Care Coordination (MCC)/Nurse Home Visits
Case management services are provided by public health nurses during the pregnancy and for two months postpartum. Services include postpartum home visits and monthly contacts for assessment, support, teaching, and referral to needed resources. Home visits are also available to monitor, teach, and support women at risk for experiencing complications of pregnancy.

Maternal Outreach Workers
Lay health workers provide support, advocacy, and mentoring to pregnant women with limited social support. Includes frequent home visits for support, transportation, and assistance for obtaining needed services such as food stamps, housing, day care, baby layette items, and parent education/home management such as shopping for nutritious foods and basic baby care. Program extends through baby's first birthday. Workers are located at the Department of Public Health and at Blue Ridge Health Center. Spanish speaking workers are posted at both locations.

Postpartum Home Visits
A visit by a public health nurse is made to postpartum women within 24-96 hours after hospital discharge. Additional visits are made as needed. Contact is made with the mother's or infant's physician if any physical problems are identified.

A visit includes a limited exam of mother and baby, breastfeeding support, including access to a certified lactation consultant, teaching on infant care, feeding, development and safety and a gift of home safety items.

Pregnancy and Parenting: A Legal Guide for Adolescents with special information for their parents (pdf) Spanish pdf
For more information, visit the Adolescent Pregnancy Project.

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Child Health

Child Service Coordination (CSC)
The Child Service Coordination program follows infants and children from birth to age 5 who have serious illnesses, have special needs or are at risk for developmental problems. These children include those that are very premature or low birthweight, have birthdefects, are born to young teens or conditions such as cancer, blindness or diabetes. A Public Health Nurse within the Community Health Program will make home visits to assess family needs, provide information on child care, perform developmental screening tests, provide education and information regarding child development and special needs, and help clients access other services as needed. Spanish speaking nurses serve the Hispanic community. There is no charge for CSC services. Patients of private physicians are also eligible for these services.

Lactation Consultation
A Certified Lactation Consultant is available by phone for assessment, support, and teaching. Access to breastfeeding aids such as breast pumps is also available. Peer counselors are available to link new mothers to experienced breast-feeding moms.

School Health
Four school health nurses provide services to over 12,000 public school students at 22 schools. Services include:

• case management for students with chronic illness or pregnancy
• screening and follow-up for identified health conditions
• training and support for school staff to administer medications and perform health-related procedures (catheterization, insulin injections, etc.)
• counseling for students and parents on health issues.

Child Care Health Consultants (Smart Start)
Nursing consultation services are provided to child care providers and nursing services to children enrolled in Henderson County Child Care Facilities. Appropriate screenings and follow-up referrals for identified health and developmental needs are given. Health, nutrition, and safety educational classes are provided for child care providers and families. Compliance of immunizations is monitored. Assessments and recommendations are made regarding the health, safety, and nutritional practices of child care facilities in our county.

Maternal Outreach Workers (MOW)
Services are continued to mothers who enrolled during their pregnancies. Service can be initiated for women referred for up to 2 months after the birth of the baby. The program extends through the baby's first birthday. Services provided include home visits for support, mentoring and linkage to needed resources such as child care, transportation, and housing.

SIDS Counseling
The Department of Public Health provides nurses trained in grief counseling for families affected by the death of an infant from Suddent Infant Death Syndrome. Home visits are available.

Child Fatality Prevention Team
This group was established by the N.C. legislature to address the issue of preventable child deaths. It is chaired by the Health Director or designee. It conducts multi-agency/interagency reviews of all infant and child deaths not reviewed by the Community Child Protection Team to identify system problems, make recommendations, and document actions by the Child Fatality Prevention Team to prevent future deaths.

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Communicable Disease Control

The Department of Public Health offers immunizations for children and adults. Travel immunizations are also provided for those wishing to travel out of the United States. Immunization schedule and recommendations vary depending on age and need. For information about immunizations, you may contact Linda Weldon at 692-4223.

Immunization Clinic Hours

Foreign Travel immunization services are available by appointment only.

Other Community Services

Staff serve on numerous task forces, committees, and agency boards, and actively participate in community processes such as the Strategic Plan for Children, the Latino Advocacy Coalition, etc. They also provide diabetes classes, teach parenting classes in our agency and in the community, participate in health fairs, and many other activities.

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