Formerly the Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s immunization center, the Westside Public Health Center facility now houses a one-stop family health care shop with partners from Jordan Valley Community Health Center, WIC, nursing services and others.

Collectively, the services are called the Nest Partnership, which seeks to Nurture, Empower, Support and Teach families.

The center also offers education and resources to families such as prenatal home visits to expecting mothers, home visits to infants that have special care needs and community classes on a variety of health and safety topics. All services are free and provided by registered nurses.

“It gives me great satisfaction to be part of this collaborative endeavor that brings much needed health services into a northwest Springfield neighborhood,” said Zone 1 Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson. “Under one roof and near to home, residents of Westside and Heart of the Westside neighborhoods will be provided primary medical care, WIC services, and parenting education opportunities. Speaking on behalf of the citizens of Zone 1, I want to thank the individuals and agencies who saw our need and stepped forward to meet it.”  

An integral part of the Nest Partnership are Jordan Valley Community Health Center’s services staffed by Cindy Tull, NP. Tull sees pediatric patients and their families for well or sick visits.

“Jordan Valley is excited to participate in this partnership by bringing medical services into the community setting,” said Dr. Matt Stinson, Vice President of Medical and Behavioral Health at Jordan Valley.

Primary care services are offered Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 417-851-1558.

Additional services housed at the facility include:

Prenatal Case Management

The Nest Partnership provides nurse case management for at-risk prenatal women or families with young children. Services are delivered in the home during scheduled visits for nurse assessment, intervention, education and collaboration with health care providers.

The Prenatal Case Management program is part of the Nest Partnership with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. This program seeks to encourage healthy behavior for eligible expectant mothers in order to deliver healthy babies. All services are voluntary and free. The program serves any pregnant woman who has one of the factors listed below:

• Alcohol abuse by client or partners
• Considered relinquishment of infant
• Currently smoking
• Drug dependence or misuse by client or partner
• Homelessness
• Living alone or single parent living alone
• Mother’s age is 17 years or less at the time of conception
• Mother’s age is 35 years or greater at time of conception
• Multiple fetuses in current pregnancy
• Partner with history of violence
• Physical or emotional abuse / neglect of client
• Physical abuse or neglect of children in the home
• Pre-pregnancy weight less than 100 pounds
• Previous infant death
• Prior low birth weight baby.

A nurse case manager will make home visits every month during the pregnancy and then every month for two months after the baby is born. During the visit, the nurse will:

• Weigh mom
• Record mom’s blood pressure
• Connect mom and family to resources
• Provide education about healthy behavior
• Monitor mom’s health status.

Special Care Infant Service

Nest’s Special Care Infant Service is a nurse home visiting program for families with babies who need a little special care. Our goal is to help families make sure their babies are healthy as they grow and learn. Our nurses help you learn more about baby health, safety, and development as you love and nurture your new baby.

The program works with families for three to six months, visiting in the home weekly for the first six weeks, then spacing visits out over the next few months.  It focuses on five areas for support and education:

• Health
• Safety
• Development
• Parenting skills
• Self-sufficiency.

During the visits, nurses may:

• Measure baby’s weight, length and head circumference
• Assist with breast or bottle feeding
• Help you learn special skills needed for your child’s needs (home oxygen, feeding tubes, medications, etc.)
• Show you how to make a safe sleep nursery for your baby
• Connect you with others in the community who can help with home safety
• Share information about what to expect as your baby grows and develops
• Listen to your concerns and help you learn skills for parenting

Criteria for the Special Care Infant Service program include, but are not limited to:

• Premature (<34 weeks) or late preterm (34-37 weeks) infant
• Term infant with medical condition
• Failure to thrive
• Concerns with growth and development
• Prenatal exposure to harmful substances
• Parent/caregiver mental health concerns
• Parental/caregiver learning difficulty or disability
• Cultural/language/age challenges to health communication and learning
• Family needs assistance with access to health care or other support services
• Complex health, social, economic, or environmental issues impacting family health.

For more information about the Nest Partnership, or to join the program, call 417-874-1220 or visit NestPartnership.org. Follow the program on social media at twitter.com/NestPartnership or facebook.com/nestpartnership/.