Member Spotlight: Lauren Hudak

Name: Lauren Hudak

Position: Women's Services Outreach Associate

Host Site: Shands Jacksonville Medical Center

Hometown: Milford, Connecticut

Graduate Degree: Masters of Public Health from The University of Pittsburgh

Undergraduate Degree: B.S. Cytogenetics from The University of Connecticut

 

Hello fellow blog followers. Shands Jacksonville is located in downtown Jacksonville, which is documented to have the highest rates of infant mortality in Duval County. I serve alongside another AmeriCorps member: Sheila Rahimpour. We serve together to assist high risk pregnant women obtain access to care, health education, and health screenings. This is achieved through a multifacted approach since my position involves several programs offered at Shands Jacksonville specifically aimed at decreasing infant mortality rates in Duval County.

The Little Miracles Program is offered to every woman willing to deliver at Shands and is a support program for assisting women achieve early and consistent prenatal care. I am involved in this process by following up with women who visit the Women's Acute Care (which is the emergency department dedicated specifically to pregnant women) who have been determined to not have medical insurance and then direct them to the Little Miracles Program to fill out a simplified Medicaid application. I also follow up with pregnant women who visit the pediatric and adult emergency rooms at Shands to confirm they have both health insurance and a prenatal care provider. If not, I also direct these women to the Little Miracles program.

On December 1, 2012, the Little Miracles program hosted a community baby shower at Shands Jacksonville where Sheila and I educated the participants on Centering Pregnancy. Centering is model of prenatal care where a small group of women with similar gestational ages meet together for their prenatal appointments. Here the group of women are able to support one another as they experience their pregnancies together. This format allows each woman to have a longer time receiving health education sessions, as each appointment is 2 hours long and there are approximately 10 appointments total throughout the span of the pregnancy. During this time each participant is also seen privately by a medical professional for assessment in an exam room. At the beginning of each appointment the women engage in self-care activities such as recording their weight, temperature and blood pressure. This eliminates wait time and allows every appointment to start right on time!

I also participate in Healthy Start, which is a state-wide program offered to every pregnant woman in the state of Florida. There are several other North Florida Heath Corps members who are involved in the Healthy Start program and I'm sure you will hear more about Healthy Start services in their blog posts.

There is so much to learn at my host site while helping to educate my clients.  I do not feel one day has passed during the past 4 months of service that I have not learned something new myself. I hope that continues to happen every day until the end of my term with NFHC.