The McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership team accepts a donation of baby essentials from the Fourth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Pictured from left to right: Sarah Griggs, RN, BSN; Susan Bailey; Kristen Miller, Nurse Manager of McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership; Solicitor William B. Rogers, Jr.; Reneka M. McCoy; and Jessica M. Hammonds.

On Wednesday, August 23, McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) received items that were collected by the Fourth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Bennettsville. Solicitor William B. Rogers, Jr. presented the donation, which includes baby essentials such as diapers, wipes, onesies, and more.

“The Fourth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office is proud to partner with McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership in such an important endeavor,” said Solicitor Rogers. “Participation in this project allows our office and community service participants the opportunity to provide much needed supplies to new mothers, infants and children under two years old. The McLeod Nurse Family Partnership is a wonderful program that will greatly benefit the young mothers and children in each county of our judicial circuit.”

These items will help the McLeod NFP program continue to meet the needs of at-risk mothers and their young children.

“McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership is truly grateful for our partnership with Solicitor Rogers’ Office,” said Kristen Miller, Nurse Manager of McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership. “These donations support our clients and their babies while benefitting the community as a whole. This allows McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership to have an even greater impact on breaking the cycle of poverty within the communities we serve.”

Nurse-Family Partnership, a nationally recognized, evidence-based program for low-income, first-time mothers, serves mothers in Florence, Darlington, Dillon, Chesterfield and Marlboro Counties. NFP has three primary goals: to improve pregnancy outcomes, enhance child health and development and strengthen the economic self-sufficiency of the families it serves.

The Fourth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office serves Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon and Marlboro Counties.

About McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)
NFP is one of the oldest and most thoroughly evaluated nurse home visitation programs in the nation. Through regular in-home visits, nurses work with enrolled mothers to improve maternal health, promote healthy child development and support mothers with issues such as continuing school, finding work or establishing adequate housing. Home visits start early in pregnancy and continue until the child’s second birthday. The program also encourages participation from the father and other members of the family.

The McLeod NFP Team, comprised of nine nurses, currently serves more than 230 moms. Results from the McLeod Nurse-Family Partnership have shown that:

• 93 percent of babies were born full term.
• 90 percent of NFP mothers had no subsequent pregnancies at program completion (two years).
• 75 percent of mothers initiated breastfeeding at birth.

The NFP program in Florence, Darlington, Dillon, Chesterfield and Marlboro Counties is supported by a public-private partnership that includes the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, the McLeod Foundation, McLeod Regional Medical Center, McLeod Health Dillon, McLeod Health Cheraw, Boeing South Carolina and the C.W. and Dorothy G. Love Foundation.

The program is supported statewide by The Duke Endowment, South Carolina DHEC, the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, the Children’s Trust of South Carolina and the NFP National Service Office.