Christiana Care Health System – Community Health

Christiana Care’s Center for Community Health, in the Office of Health Equity, is dedicated to improving the health of the individuals across the First State. This is achieved by:

• Connecting the community to available and appropriate health care services
• Providing health and wellness education
• Leading and participating in community-based research

Community Health integrates community health services with primary care, and collaborates with a variety of partners within Christiana Care, the Wilmington community, State of Delaware and national organizations. Community Health also helps to inform policy makers and community leaders about local health challenges, evaluates the effectiveness of interventions and serves as a focus for evidence-based practices that improve the health and overall quality of life for our neighbors.

Our programs
Community Health’s multidisciplinary team allows us to provide services ranging from prevention education and train-the-trainer classes to advocacy and wellness programs. Community Health is engaged in a variety of areas including women’s health, adolescent health, heart health, obesity, and many other public health priorities. These programs focus on health and wellness, teach consumers to identify health risks, and provide them with strategies to address those risks and teach health advocacy skills for themselves and their families. These include:

Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
The Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (AAPP) works to reduce the number of teenagers who are sexually active, become pregnant and become teen parents. The AAPP offers educational programs statewide for young people and their parents. It also serves physicians, educators, nonprofit groups and anyone else who provides care for teens and their families. The Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention is supported by the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services Division of Public Health.

Bootcamp for New Dads
Boot Camp for New Dads is a unique father-to-father, community-based workshop that equips men with the tools to successfully manage the transition into fatherhood. During this program for new dads and dads-to-be, advice is shared along with education on handling a newborn, breastfeeding partner support, education on sudden infant death and shaken baby syndrome, post-partum support, creating a safe environment and more. The workshop includes attendance from three types of groups: coaches – lead and guide the conversation; veteran dads – bring their baby and provide insight and experience; rookie dads – dads-to-be who attend to learn.

Bootcamp for New Moms
Boot Camp for New Dads is a unique mother-to-mother, community-based workshop that equips women with the tools to successfully manage the transition into motherhood. During this program for new moms and moms-to-be, advice is shared along with education on forming a parenting team, transitioning back to work or staying home, breastfeeding realities and challenges, understanding of what new dads are going through, taking self-care and more. The workshop includes attendance from three types of groups: coaches – lead and guide the conversation; veteran moms – bring their baby and provide insight and experience; rookie moms – moms-to-be who attend to learn.

Camp Fresh
Camp FRESH (Fresh Resources Everyone Should Have) is a program designed to empower Wilmington youth to become agents of change within their communities, and is focused on improving health and quality of life by expanding access to quality foods. By becoming ambassadors for good nutrition and healthy lifestyles, the Camp FRESH teens hope to give their families and neighbors the tools to build a healthier lifestyle.

Community S.O.S.
Community S.O.S is an innovative pilot program that is designed to help individuals receive addiction treatment and support following their release from a hospital emergency department following a suspected opioid overdose event. The program will create a response team of specially trained engagement specialists and emergency responders who (with appropriate patient consent protocols) will visit with patients at home following an overdose. The team will provide education and access to resources to patients and their families to help break the cycle of addiction.

Health Ambassadors
The Health Ambassadors program promotes good health before pregnancy and provides information to help prevent premature births, a leading cause of death in newborn babies. The health ambassadors also promote key maternal and child health messages including the benefits of breastfeeding and the importance of safe sleep. The health ambassadors work in targeted high risk zip codes to connect pregnant women and young families to health care, social services, home visiting and educational programs. The program is supported by the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services Division of Public Health.

Health Guides
Christiana Care Health Guides help patients that face any financial barrier to care as well as connect them with community resources and health care services including primary care referrals, prescription assistance, health insurance application assistance including Medicare & Medicaid, and more. Health Guides also help patients get the support they need to pay for health care costs.

Produce Prescription Program
The Produce Prescription Program is a mixed-methods pilot study to test the feasibility of offering produce prescription vouchers to high-risk pregnant or postpartum patients. In partnership with Urban Acres Produce, a Central Baptist community-owned farm stand, 6 produce stands were centrally placed in defined high-risk zip codes of low-income urban areas in Wilmington, Delaware. Produce are made available at competitive prices for the residents of Wilmington. This program aimed to increase access to healthy foods; improve self-efficacy of fruit and vegetable intake; and identify perceptions of importance around eating fresh produce among pregnant or postpartum women deemed as high-risk.

Christiana Care – Community Health website