2024 Core Values Team Award Winner: DC Mother-Baby Wellness
DC Mother-Baby Wellness provides no cost, comprehensive care to pregnant and postpartum women and their young children (through baby’s third birthday), in Washington, D.C. The program provides comprehensive mental health and developmental screenings, health education, care coordination and treatment. In addition to in-person services, the program includes behavioral health workforce development, training initiatives, policy, advocacy and community engagement.
Who is DC Mother-Baby Wellness?
The program has received more than 1,700 referrals since it began in 2021.
Compassion: creating an exceptional patient experience
The DC Mother-Baby Wellness team wants patients to feel respected, cared for and heard throughout their pregnancy and postpartum journey, regardless of outcomes. They use a holistic approach to care that values transparency, sincerity and genuineness.
“Through the research of the Developing Brain Institute, we identified that maternal stress during pregnancy was having a negative impact on developing fetuses and infants,” says Tracy Vozar, Ph.D., IMH-E (IV-R), PMH-C, clinical director of perinatal behavioral health. “Dr. Catherine Limperopoulos and team founded DC Mother-Baby Wellness to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality, provide early intervention, promote infant development and maternal well-being, and to create a new landscape for maternal and infant wellness in Washington, D.C.”
“Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person,” says Cynthia Graham, BA, lead perinatal care coordinator. “We provide support, advice and resources to help patients become self-sufficient and succeed as parents, and we do so with empathy, kindness and loyalty.”
Commitment: serving with integrity
“This is an incredibly hard-working, dedicated team who finds a way – even when the odds are against them,” Vozar says. “They’re committed to doing what it takes to meet each individual patient’s needs and treatment goals.”
DC Mother-Baby Wellness has regularly pivoted and expanded services as new needs are identified, including extending their presence to Children’s National THEARC, adding care coordination and clinical services in Spanish, starting a perinatal psychology fellowship and launching WePlay! DC mother-infant play groups.
“I’ve loved watching the moms from WePlay! become friends,” says Brittni King, MPH, CHES, program coordinator. “Some of the moms hang out together outside of group, and it’s so special to watch the relationships cultivate and their support systems grow.”
Because patients often face economic, social and systemic barriers to accessing care, the team often helps coordinate external health appointments, provide care kits for those experiencing loss, or assist with access to insurance, housing and food.
Connection: developing inclusive relationships
The DC Mother-Baby Wellness team prides itself on providing representative care, with most of their direct care providers identifying as Black, Latina and/or mothers themselves, and with services provided in English and Spanish. The team’s relationship building has allowed them to develop accessible and sustainable services for and within the community.
“We have trusting, caring and professionally motivating relationships with each other, which translates to the care we provide for our patients,” says Gemyta Robinson, BA, MSW, LICSW, LCSW-C, perinatal behavioral health specialist. “DC Mother-Baby Wellness also maintains meaningful connections with community and partnering organizations. These connections further facilitate access to resources, and cohesive and informed care for the perinatal community.”
How they will use the award funds
The team will use the funds to bridge the insurance gap and to purchase basic, life-saving and well-being supplies for families, including at-home blood pressure monitors, thermometers, diapers and personal care products. They also will use some funds to purchase specially designed self-care kits for patients experiencing perinatal grief or loss.
