Grande Ronde Hospital | FY2018 | Community Benefit Report

CHARM, Children and Recovering Mothers program, is a confidential, affordable program developed to help women deliver healthy babies. The program was “born” at Grande Ronde Hospital’s Family Birthing Center (FBC) in 2017—an initiative undertaken by FBC Nurse Manager Jenny Gonzales. “Babies born addicted to alcohol and drugs are at great risk for long-term effects. We see it. We wanted to make a difference; to make sure these mamas and babies get the care they need. It was also important for the program to not be punitive, but have acceptance to be honest and transparent. CHARM is a proven, best-practice program used successfully in other places across the country, so I knew it could work here with the right support and collabora- tion,” explains Gonzales. CHARM is a non-punitive health care program for pregnant women strug- gling with alcohol or drug addiction. It offers early intervention and resources throughout a pregnancy to reduce the risk of postpartum complications and helps ensure a healthy newborn. CHARM provides comprehensive and compassionate care and support, while recognizing the difficulty of addic- tion and substance abuse. The broader hope for CHARM is to help these women find a way out of addiction and keep their families together. CHARMed partnerships In addition to the work being done through the FBC, the GRH Women’s and Children’s Clinic provides both prenatal care and post-delivery support for mom and baby; and the GRH Community Health Worker program offers support for securing resources and assistance Care with CHARM For more information, call the GRH Women’s and Children’s Clinic at 541-663-3150 . programs in the community. Teamwork among GRH staff is crucial to the success of the program. “It was important to have the support of and partnership between our OB-GYNs and our pediatricians to make this program work,” says Gonzales. Local community partners working with us in support of the CHARM program include the Center for Human Development, which provides post- delivery support resources such as the WIC and Babies First programs, alcohol and drug counseling, mental health counseling and Licensed Clinical Social Workers. Grande Ronde Recovery also offers alcohol and drug counseling, as well as drug replacement therapy as needed. Other resources may include help with access to safe housing, a phone, baby necessities, and transporta- tion as well as registration assistance with other support services such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the Supple- mental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and health care. Our CHARM program is for pregnant women who want help with substance addiction. We want to work with you to ensure you have a healthy baby. We want to help you to avoid complica- tions that are associated with maternal- fetal alcohol and drug addiction. Upon referral to the CHARM program, you will meet with medical, mental and behavioral health professionals who are knowledgeable about the effects of addiction to assess your and your baby’s needs. Our Family Birthing Center implemented the CHARM program because all babies born at GRH should be as strong and healthy as this newborn. 2