Beyond COVID-19: Supporting 101 Healthy Start Grantees in a Pandemic

Full Description: The Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project (SHSPP) assists 101 Healthy Start (HS) grant recipients (grantees) across the nation. The HS Program provides grants to high-risk communities with infant mortality rates at least 1.5 times the U.S. national average and high rates of other adverse perinatal outcomes (e.g., low birthweight, preterm birth, maternal morbidity and mortality). HS works to reduce the disparity in health status between the general population and individuals who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups. To support these 101 HS programs and communities, SHSPP’s Technical Assistance (TA) and Support Center (TASC) provides capacity building assistance (CBA), including ongoing TA, training and education to HS grant recipients.

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of HS programs were unable to meet with program participants in-person. To support grantees in providing virtual services (via video conference, phone, texting, etc.) and managing the everchanging landscape around COVID-19, the TASC launched a Beyond COVID-19 Webinar Series. The webinar series featured faculty and subject matter experts who provided potential solutions to common challenges around providing virtual services. TASC led the webinar series in partnership with Supportive Solutions, Inc. and Postpartum Support International.

In this presentation, we share the TASC’s approach for developing the Beyond COVID Webinar Series as well as challenges and successes related to its implementation. There were five webinar offerings in this series:
1. Introduction to the Beyond COVID-19 Webinar Series
2. A Deep Dive into Providing Teleservices for Healthy Start, in which HS grantees shared best practices for providing case management virtually
3. Supporting Mental Health During and Beyond COVID-19, in which HS grantees shared their successes and challenges in supporting HS clients and staff as well as the need to provide mental health support to staff serving HS participants.
4. Quick Tests of Change for Healthy Start, in which HS grantees reviewed best practices and discussed potential strategies for testing COVID-19-related change ideas and grantees were provided 1:1 TA around implementing these change ideas.
5. Reconnecting & Reengaging Healthy Start Clients, in which HS grantees learned from each other and shared their best practices for remaining connected to clients.

The TASC will share grantees’ successes (i.e.: the benefits of cross-fertilization on innovations and ideas, opportunities to build confidence, education on telehealth and telecommunications) as well as challenges (i.e.: difficulties transitioning from full program services to a hybrid model, varying technology capacity and training across HS programs, strains on staff mental health, challenges providing resources to HS clients during a pandemic) in order to help inform the work of other MCH practitioners.

Abbreviated Description: The Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project (SHSPP) assists 101 Healthy Start (HS) grant recipients (grantees) across the nation. To support these 101 HS programs and communities, SHSPP’s Technical Assistance (TA) and Support Center (TASC) provides capacity building assistance (CBA), including ongoing TA, training and education to HS grant recipients. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, HS programs are finding creative solutions to connect with participants virtually. To support grantees in providing virtual services and managing the everchanging landscape around COVID-19, the TASC launched a Beyond COVID-19 Webinar Series. We share the TASC’s approach for developing the Beyond COVID Webinar Series as well as challenges and successes related to its implementation.