| The Health & Parenting section outlines different organizations that can assist with health needs for mother and child, as well as organizations that can teach the parents how to care for their baby. In this section you will read about Arizona Smoker's Helpline, AZ Cooperative Extension, Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital, Child & Family Resources, Inc., Mariposa Community Health Center: Platicamos Salud, Mariposa Community Health Center: OB/GYN, The Way of the Heart: The Promotora Institute, and Dr. Jose Duran. |
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Arizona Smoker's Helpline (ASH)
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ASH provides free smoking cessation
counseling by experts, self-help kits,
and motivational material.
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AZ Cooperative Extension
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AZ Cooperative Extension cooperates
between the University of Arizona and
Santa Cruz County to distribute information
about research done at the university.
They give nutrition classes throughout
the year at schools and in their office.
The classes are taught free of charge
and are especially useful for pregnant women.
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Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital
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Holy Cross Hospital offers a program called Choices
For Families. A subprogram of that is Healthy
Families (see Child & Family Resources), which is
specifically for new mothers. In order to determine
if she qualifies, a case manager interviews the
patient once she has been admitted to the hospital
for labor. Eligibility is NOT based on income, but
on the need for education and guidance, such as
with a teen mother. If the patient qualifies, the
case manager interviews the entire family and helps
them make health decisions as well as refers them
to any agencies that can help them. In addition,
Holy Cross provides a lactation consultant to encourage
breastfeeding, give support if the mother has
difficulty with breastfeeding, and answer any questions
that she may have.
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Child & Family Resources, Inc.
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Child & Family Resources runs the Healthy Families program offered
at Holy Cross hospital. Women can be enrolled at any point in
their pregnancy. All services are free of charge for qualifying
women and families. After the family consents to allow Child & Family
resources to help, an assessment is made to determine what needs
the family has. The purpose of the program is to help families
develop positive parent-child relationships and enhance their
child’s physical and emotional development. The program serves
parents with risk factors such as:
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Mariposa Community Health Center: Platicamos Salud
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Platicamos Salud is the educational arm of Mariposa Community
Health Center. The program related to pregnancy is called Health
Start and its goal is to prevent low birth weights and premature
births. They can help you find out if you are pregnant, answer
your questions, help you find a doctor, fill out forms and make
appointments for AHCCCS or WIC, help you find a way to pay for
your baby’s birth, and make home visits. There will be visits
at least once a month during pregnancy, and twelve visits after
the birth of the baby. All services are free, and women under 19
automatically qualify, as well as women who have ‘high-risk’
pregnancies. Ask for a referral from your doctor or WIC, or make
a self-referral by calling Platicamos Salud.
Mariposa also offers a tobacco cessation course. It is free and open to the public. It is a five-week program that meets once a week for two hours. They cover topics such as lung problems, dangers of tobacco use, and second hand smoke, as well as hand out free nicotine patches. A relapse prevention program is available for students who have finished the cessation course or who have quit smoking for 30 days, and it is also free and open to the public. To enroll call Platicamos Salud.
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Mariposa Community Health Center: OB/GYN
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The women’s clinic at Mariposa Community Health Center offers many
services to pregnant women and teenagers. It is very important to
find out if you are pregnant early in the pregnancy, and to
receive prenatal care as soon as possible after that. That’s why
Mariposa offers free pregnancy tests on a walk-in basis, to make
healthcare more accessible. For teenagers who usually come in
with their parents, the staff will create a separate medical chart
so that information about the pregnancy will not show up on the
regular chart and parents will not inadvertently find out.
Once the patient begins receiving care, Mariposa allows for a grace period before the patient is charged to give her time to inform her parents of the pregnancy. After that the patient can pay with her parent’s insurance on a sliding pay scale, or, if no insurance is available, the staff will help fill out an application for AHCCCS. An appointment is made for pregnant women within two weeks, or sooner for high-risk pregnancies. At Mariposa the patient will have access to a case manager and a counselor. The case manager can make home visits as well as teach prenatal classes. Patients can be referred to Health Start, the program through Platicamos Salud, for extra support. All children are delivered at Holy Cross hospital, unless the delivery is high-risk, in which case the patient may be sent to Tucson.
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The Way of the Heart: The Promotora Institute
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For pregnant women and mothers there is Un Buen Comienzo,
a prenatal program that gives classes and information on
pregnancy, parenting, and early childhood development.
Home-based and tailored to a woman’s individual needs, the
program teaches women about breastfeeding, nutrition, car
seat safety, immunizations, and many other topics. The
staff members, or promotoras, make home visits once a month.
They can also help fill out applications for KID’S CARE or
AHCCCS. All services are free.
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Dr. Jose Duran
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Dr. Jose Duran operates in a private clinic and offers O.B.
services and prenatal care.
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