UMSON Receives $300,000 Gift to Continue Advancing Health of Children and Families Through Baltimore City Early Head Start and Family Support Centers

Baltimore, Md. - The University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) has received a $300,000 gift in the form of a three-year pledge from the Mary Catherine Bunting Foundation to continue the work of the School’s Community and Public Health Environmental Initiative (CPHEI). The initiative, founded in 2016 with a gift from Bunting, MS ’72, CRNP, RN, provides health oversight for children and families served by Baltimore City Early Head Start (EHS) centers and Family Support Patty Centers, which are coordinated through the Maryland State Department of Education and offer free educational and health-related services to parents and children. In total, Bunting and the foundation have contributed $1.55 million to UMSON in support of CPHEI.

CPHEI is a collaborative effort with the Maryland Family Network to improve overall health and environmental health for EHS center children from birth until age 3 through programs that support early literacy and life-long healthy habits, including nutrition, physical activity, quality family time, and mindfulness. CPHEI delivers health services to 11 EHS centers in Baltimore and three Patty Centers in Frederick, Annapolis, and Baltimore, Maryland, representing more than 400 children and their families; to date these efforts have benefited more than 3,000 children and their families. 

EHS services are federally funded and free for families who meet income requirements or qualify for public assistance. According to the 2020 Baltimore City Early Childhood Care & Education Landscape Analysis, there are approximately 41,600 children from birth to age 4 living in the city. While births citywide decreased by 13% from 2014 - 18, births to Latina mothers increased as have the number of births in the northwest, southwest, southeast, and northeast areas of the city. Approximately 23% of residents live below the poverty line, and nearly 40% of families with children live below 150% of the poverty line.

More than 630 students from UMSON’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and RN-to-BSN programs, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Entry-into-Nursing program, MSN Community/Public Health Nursing specialty, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) specialties participate in CPHEI and provide the critical health services to EHS/Patty Center children as part of the School’s ongoing service learning commitment.

The latest funding will support core and essential services identified during a summer 2023 survey of Baltimore City EHS centers, such as:

• hearing and vision screening with referrals to pediatricians; ophthalmology and audiology; or ear, nose, and throat specialty care, if needed
• height, weight, Body Mass Index, head circumference, and blood pressure screenings
• well-child exams and developmental screenings performed by our DNP Family Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner faculty and students
• medical chart reviews according to the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Healthy Kids Schedule so that children can remain enrolled in EHS
• case coordination between the EHS center families and pediatricians or dental providers, including referrals for children with developmental or behavioral concerns to specialty care, including Baltimore Infants and Toddlers and Kennedy Krieger Institute, for further evaluation

The funding also allows CPHEI to hire a new program manager to coordinate all aspects of the program; help educate nursing students to perform vital health services in EHS, such as hearing and vision screening; and support ongoing and new initiatives within the program, such as nutrition education and counseling, social determinants of health screening, and community gardens. The program manager also helps expand nursing services to EHS and Patty centers by precepting RN-to-BSN students. 

“Over the next three years, we anticipate expanding our services to more Family Support Centers that provide early childhood education to pre-school children as well as a variety of services to parents,” said Laura Allen, DNP ’24, MA, MS ’15, RN, NEA-BC, assistant professor and director of CPHEI. “While children are receiving education in classrooms, their parents are taking GED classes, receiving employment skills training, taking parenting classes, and receiving health and wellness education and screenings. The centers provide a wonderful opportunity for our students to practice community/public health and engage with members of the community.” 

EHS center staff also noted that essential CPHEI nursing services include technical support to centers to renew their Eco-Healthy Child Care® endorsements through Children’s Environmental Health Network. Since 2016, CPHEI has facilitated more than 40 Eco-Healthy Child Care® endorsements at EHS and Head Start centers by eliminating environmental health hazards in or around the facilities and pursuing free or low-cost environmentally healthy best practices.

Other examples of CPHEI initiatives that this funding supports include linking students and staff with the Baltimore City Master Gardeners and University of Maryland Extension SNAP-Ed Program to provide training for and carry out hands-on gardening activities and nutritional education and participation in Maryland Family Network’s safe sleep trainings and initiatives.

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.