The Black Infant Health (BIH) program focuses on improving the health of Black and African American individuals and their babies during and after pregnancy. It’s a unique and strong partnership between Black and African American churches, pastors, Health Ministers, community groups, public health nurses, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Department of Health (DOH), and Health Care Authority (HCA).
How does the Black Infant Health program work?
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has a dedicated nurse who works with, trains, and refers individuals to a network of Health Ministers. Health Ministers are community volunteers who are often attached to a church, but not always. Church pastors typically appoint a Health Minister and often Health Ministers will join the program, too.
Volunteer Health Ministers help support high-risk, pregnant Black and African American individuals by providing guidance and support around pregnancy and infant health. Health Ministers meet with pregnant individuals and families, offering one-on-one contact and social support, referrals, and navigation. They link families to basic needs and refer pregnant individuals to HCA’s First Steps Maternity Support Services, Infant Case Management, and Childbirth Education programs.
“We can’t do this work without the support of the community. There are many more individuals needing this service than we can reach. Our goal is to partner with others willing to focus on culturally relevant and congruent care for Black African American families.”
DOH and HCA provide funding for the Black Infant Health program through the Health Minister’s contract.
Let’s talk with those who work in the program
We recently had the chance to sit down with RaTanya Ozolin, Health Promotion Coordinator II, Taleema Love, Public Health Nurse I, and Johanna Wolf, Health Promotion Coordinator III, from Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department; and funding coordinators Brittany Hinchcliffe from Washington Department of Health and Heather Weiher from Health Care Authority to learn more about this critical, life-changing program.
How did the Black Infant Health program come to be?
Black Infant Health came about in 2009 when Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department recognized a need to support Black/African American pregnant and parenting individuals. The data indicated that birth outcomes were worse for this group than for any other. Pierce County also fared worse than other counties in Washington.
PCHD utilized approximately 0.2 FTE of a Public Health Nurse’s time to build a program, based loosely on the Black Infant Health program in California. The nurse used a Health Minister model with African American church health ministries to support pregnant women in their congregations. Lea Johnson, the Public Health Nurse at Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, similarly created a network of support with Pierce County area churches, community supporters, and support organizations like Early Headstart, Care Net, and other nonprofits catering to pregnant and postpartum persons.
What are some outcomes you’ve seen from this program?
Our participants have consistently had higher birthweight babies who have survived the crucial first year of life — which we celebrate with a huge birthday party for the babies. We have offered education to our participants that included Group Peer Support facilitation, Breastfeeding Peer Counseling, and Childbirth Education. Participants and Health Ministers have gone on to start support groups, work in public health, and represent Nurse Family Partnership at the national level.
What kinds of things does the Health Minister’s contract pay for?
The contract pays for part of a Public Health Nurse’s time, as well as a Health Promotion Coordinator II. These staff work with Health Ministers to identify pregnant church and community members and serve as a referral source to Maternity Support Services, Infant Case Management, Childbirth Education, and other needed resources in the community.
They provide content training and answer questions about First Steps, healthy pregnancy messaging, and resource referral information for Health Ministers. The Public Health Nurse also supports and facilitates monthly Health Minister meetings and offers postpartum home or virtual visits with active participants.
How does someone get connected with this program? Do you have to belong to a church to receive services or assistance?
We promote the program in the community through outreach, and people can call us. Entry into the program is low-barrier and individuals can self-refer. We also have a very engaged Maternal Child Outreach Team who are constantly screening and referring participants into the program. We also receive referrals from providers and Maternity Support Services.
What are some services or assistance that a pregnant individual can receive through the Black Infant Health program?
They can receive one-on-one support and navigation of resources. We refer participants to Group Perinatal Support, diaper banks, doulas, medical support, food resources, job resources, and currently provide blood pressure self-monitoring education for those with elevated blood pressures.
What do you want people to know about this program?
We can’t do this work without the support of the community. There are many more individuals needing this service than we can reach. Our goal is to partner with others willing to focus on culturally relevant and congruent care for Black African American families.
Black birth outcomes are the result of complicated and co-mingling factors stemming from systems that highlight, target, and prefer those of European descent. Black/African American individuals report being treated differently, and the data now show that these biases, whether conscious or not, affect the physical well-being of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals.
This program works on downstream factors, but we also aim to change systems for the better, so that policies and practices benefit all pregnant and parenting people.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about the Black Infant Health program?
This program operates primarily due to the passion and support of volunteer community Health Ministers. Over the last few years, our volunteers have largely come from the community rather than from churches. We are currently working to find funding sources that understand our community Health Ministers deserve compensation for this important work.