Bright Start Prenatal Program

The goal of the Neighborhood Bright Start Program is to improve birth outcomes of children born to Neighborhood members by increasing the frequency and quality of prenatal care to high risk and minority populations. We work with members and their providers to

• Help members get to their health care appointments
• Help members manage medical problems they may have
• Help members with non-medical problems they may have that affect their pregnancy
• Encourage good nutrition, breastfeeding, appropriate infant and maternal postpartum care, and planning for future birth control needs
• Help members obtain care for behavioral health problems, to stop smoking, or to stop drug and/or alcohol abuse

The program is designed for pregnant Neighborhood members. A member is enrolled when she begins prenatal care with a provider site that participates in Bright Start, when she calls to enroll, or when she is referred to the program for assistance because of frequent ER use during her pregnancy.

Member Resources

• Care management – available for at-risk pregnant members enrolled in Bright Start; click here for more details
• Bright Start fact sheet
• Choosing a Birth Control Method – What’s Right for Me?
• Free prenatal classes
• Checklist for pregnancy
• Checklist for after the baby is born

Provider Resources

• Monthly report to sites participating in Bright Start – report lists members newly enrolled in the program from that site and provides contact information for the Bright Start care managers.
• Neighborhood Care Managers are available to support the OB clinician's work to provide proactive, evidence-based prenatal care. To refer a patient for care management, call Yvonne Freeman, RN at 1-401-459-6186.
• Prenatal Care Guidelines
• Health Risk Assessment form
• Neighborhood Prenatal-GYN Request form
• Choosing a Birth Control Method – What’s Right for Me?
• Free prenatal classes

Results

• 57% of Neighborhood deliveries in the second half of 2004 were to members enrolled in Bright Start
• 72% of members enrolled in Bright Start in 2004 had problems that qualified them as “at-risk” and eligible for care management services

Contact Nancy Harrison at 1-401-459-6127 for more information about the Neighborhood Bright Start Program.