Programs Supporting Pregnant Women Merge

LCCAA Head Start’s Pregnancy Support Services program is now part of the LCCAA Lorain County Pathways HUB (LCPHUB).

Melissa Carroll has joined the LCPHUB as its Community Health Worker (CHW) Coordinator. In her new role, Carroll – an experienced CHW herself - will be a mentor, program coordinator and advocate for the HUB’s CHWs serving in area hospitals and social service programs.

“This is a very natural integration of two programs that have the same goals,” said LCPHUB Director Nina Brooks. “The women Melissa has been working with will continue to be served and we are thrilled to have her overseeing this great work.”

LCPHUB has also announced a new partnership with El Centro de Servicios Sociales, Inc. El Centro will hire and house a CHW who will serve pregnant women as part of the HUB.

The LCPHUB is a free program seeking to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of at-risk moms and infants in Lorain County. The LCPHUB is funded by grants from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, the Center for Disease Control’s CHWs for COVID Response and Resilient Communities Initiative, and Lorain County Public Health.

In Lorain County, 13 out of every 1,000 Black or African American infants die in their first year of life. The rate for white infants is 4.5.

The HUB-funded CHWs connect people with services that address the social determinants of health. Social determinants of health include problems such as food insecurity, lack of access to prenatal care and other issues that can add to health problems, especially for pregnant women.

Though the HUB is currently focused on pregnant women and their families in at-risk African American and Hispanic communities, the program is open to all Lorain County pregnant moms in need. They bridge the gap between communities and the health and social services system while advocating for individual and community needs.