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Family Bridge CHW describes postpartum home visits, rising housing and mental‑health needs
Summary
At an OHS webinar, Family Bridge CHW Sarita Holley Hicks described home visits, hospital rounding and referrals for new parents in Bridgeport, emphasizing rising housing instability and maternal mental‑health needs and calling for more accessible continuing education.
At a Connecticut Office of Health Strategy webinar, Sarita Holley Hicks, a community health worker and doula with the Family Bridge program at Bridgeport Hospital, described how CHWs support postpartum families and the challenges they face on the ground.
Sarita Holley Hicks said: "As a Family Bridge community health worker, I support families that's going through the postpartum stage, early childhood, and any other life challenges." She described typical duties—home visits, connecting families to WIC and SNAP, and rounding on postpartum floors at local hospitals—and named housing instability and maternal mental health as urgent, growing concerns.
Panelists used Sarita’s example to underline educational priorities for practicing CHWs. When asked which continuing‑education topics should be prioritized, she recommended maternal mental health, housing resources, crisis intervention, cultural competency and birth work. The webinar itself offered 1.5 continuing education credits for certified CHWs, Rachel Resnick said, and OHS said it plans to expand free continuing education offerings to reduce access barriers.
Support networks were also emphasized. Sarita credited peer CHW networks and formal partnerships with hospitals, clinics and early‑childhood programs for preventing families from "falling through the cracks." Panelists encouraged frontline input into statewide advocacy, including potential public awareness campaigns to clarify CHW roles.
The webinar concluded with an invitation to the CHW advisory body meeting (Dec. 4 at 10:00) and an offer from OHS to post the recorded session to its YouTube page and to share a CHW resource compendium when it is complete.
