Testimonials & Articles
An excerpt from a letter written by a mother:
"On the day of the first visit I was very nervous someone was going to come into my home and see that I wasn’t able to handle being a mom, but the opposite happened. In one visit, my home visitor, had boosted my spirits and let me know I wasn’t screwing everything up. She let me know that tons of people go through this and it didn’t make me a failure. Every visit after that I could feel myself getting more confident and was able to enjoy being a mom more. My daughter and I finally started to really bond like a mom and daughter should. I learned different ways to interact with my baby to help her develop and I learned that no parent is perfect and that it’s okay. I learned that I am still a person, not just a mom, and that I matter."
Another excerpt from a mother:
"I am a mom in Yellowstone County enrolled in Nurse-Family Partnership and was able to obtain counseling during the Covid-19 crisis. My nurse was persistent and able to show me that my anxiety and depression symptoms increased over the past few months. My nurse understood my transportation barrier and stated that counselors are offering telehealth, much like our home visits look right now. She asked if this is something I would consider to try and help my symptoms. My nurse recommended my counselor based on feedback from other clients. I followed through, made the appointment, and as of last week, my nurse screened me and my anxiety and depression symptoms have decreased. I am so glad to have my nurse and a counselor that truly LISTEN!"
From the home visitor perspective:
“One of my clients successfully latched to his mom’s breast for the second time in his 5 weeks of life. It was a very emotional moment when he latched after trying several different techniques and positions. You could see the mom’s facial muscles and demeanor relax as baby latched. This gave the mom that glimpse of hope to continue working towards the goal of breastfeeding without nipple shields. This particular visit was done in conjunction with another home visitor who is also a Certified Lactation Counselor, and together we thought of suggestions to give to mom for her child to successfully latch.”
“Got two families connected with WIC and one family moved out of a volatile living situation!”
“Had a client get childcare for both of her children after having lots of barriers including transportation, paperwork, and finding openings.”
"I have been working with a family since pregnancy. The child is now 3 months old and is an only child. From the beginning, the parents were "vaccine hesitant" and many of our conversations were centered around vaccine misinformation, vaccine schedule, vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine safety, etc. The child has a medical home and has been seen for all recommended well-child checks. Mom had declined vaccines at the child’s 2-month appointment until the parents could decide on whether they would vaccinate and which vaccines they wanted administered. I offered to administer vaccines in the home and the parents accepted. I brought all immunizations recommended to that visit and we had one more conversation about vaccines. At the end of the visit, both parents consented to administering all vaccines recommended at the 2-month mark."
"A 22-year-old first-time mother was dead set against breastfeeding. After working with her for just a little while she is now breastfeeding her baby who is healthy and meeting appropriate milestones."
"This past week we had a conversation with one of our local Substance Use Treatment providers. They reported that they really appreciated their partnership with the Flathead Healthy Montana Families program. They report that when they look over their data, they are able to find that the mutual clients that we share between their treatment program and PAT, SafeCare, and FYI, they are able to see improved treatment outcomes for the families who are receiving services from both agencies. They credit the support and ongoing case management that Flathead Healthy Montana Families is providing with these improved outcomes. We are proud to be part of this recovery support network in Flathead County."
An article in the Great Falls Tribune written by Stacy Rice:
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/12/16/raising-readers-helps-build-babies-brains-books/6511874002/
Click on the image below to see a video sent to us by
HMF partner and Local Implementing Agency,
Community Health Partners, Park County,
John Gregory, Director of Learning Partners:
Click on the image below to see a video sent to us by
HMF partner and Local Implementing Agency,
Gallatin City-County Health Department,
Amie Gatterdam, Maternal Child Health Program Manager:
Click on the image below to see a video sent to us by
HMF partner and Local Implementing Agency,
Missoula City-County Health Department,
Kara Hanson, Supervisor & Administrator:
Click on the images below to see videos sent to us by
HMF partner and Local Implementing Agency,
Mineral County Health Department,
April Quinlan, Parents as Teachers Program Supervisor
(Videos Produced and Narrated by actual Parents as Teachers participants):
Click on the image below to see a video sent to us by
HMF partner and Local Implementing Agency,
RiverStone Health in Billings,
Doug Andersen, Supervisor & Administrator:
