Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

'The First Three Initiative' is offered at Hope Clinic for Women

FALLBROOK – Hope Clinic for Women was licensed as a free primary care medical clinic in Fallbrook by the California Department of Health in July 2020. The HCW medical team, nurse manager and physician assistant Brenda Robinson and nurse practitioner Gabriella Carenza, also completed their ultrasound training at that time.

The licensing and training could not have come at a more critical time with many medical services including pregnancy testing and ultrasounds difficult to secure in 2020. The fact that all services at HCW are at no cost to women is a benefit to those in the community dealing with unplanned pregnancy and with finances made worse due to the pandemic.

HCW knows that women who are under 20 are more than three times as likely to have received delayed or no care for pregnancy. Complicating this further is that half of pregnancies are unplanned which increases the number of young women and babies needing the benefits of first trimester pregnancy services.

It is out of these concerns that HCW will release "The First Three Initiative" with a singular focus on critical first trimester pregnancy services to better inform the community and to provide opportunities for the community to help remedy some of the key issues impacting their demographic, pregnant women who are 18-24 years old.

The initiative addresses the barriers to accessing health care and accessing primary care during the first trimester of pregnancy including affordability of medical care, accessibility of services, the availability of care and unhealthy and unaddressed lifestyles that may put them and their babies at risk because they fear sanction or pressure to change habits such as alcohol addiction, heavy smoking and eating disorders.

Carolyn Koole, executive director of Hope Clinic for Women, said, "Before we added on-site medical services, changing our name to 'Hope Clinic for Women,' we served the community as 'Fallbrook Pregnancy Resource Center.' It always was our belief that programs directed toward teenage mothers need to be comprehensive, sharing parenting skills and assisting the mothers over the numerous hurdles standing between them and self-sufficiency.

"We agree with the National Academy of Sciences when they say, 'If parents are not supported, they have a diminished capacity to support their children. Such parents not only suffer from economic hardship, but also face additional challenges arising from the lack of personal networks – friends, co-workers and extended family members. Teenage mothers are often in poverty and lack the knowledge, skills and social support needed to be good parents.'"

According to Koole, for over 20 years in Fallbrook, HCW has had success in providing essential services while directing mothers to local services they do not offer. In 2020 at almost 1,000 visits, mothers in their virtual and on-site mentoring programs benefited from free resources earned as they learn, including baby beds, strollers, diapers, clothing, etc.

"Our privilege of providing free on-site medical services complimented by our pregnancy resources is a gift that we offer gladly to a community of mothers and babies we love. Our goal at HCW is to make sure moms enter pregnancy support as early as possible ensuring a healthy pregnancy and delivery for both mom and baby and then successful parenting and self-sufficiency beyond that," Koole said.

To learn more about the "The First Three Initiative," contact HCW at 760-728-4105, ext. 10, or visit http://www.hopefallbrook.com. Hope Clinic for Women is located at 125 E Hawthorne St. in Fallbrook.

Submitted by Hope Clinic for Women.

 

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