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Healthy Start Program

Maajtaag Mnobmaadzid - Start of a Healthy Life

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Healthy Start Program Hours:

Monday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Tuesday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Wednesday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Thursday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Friday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Saturday: CLOSED

Sunday: CLOSED

Health Start Phone Number | Joann LeBlanc:

(906) 248-8360

Tribal Home Visiting Phone Number | Evelyene McPherson:

(906) 248-8375

What is Healthy Start?

The first five years of a child’s life can significantly impact their physical, social, and emotional development. Positive experiences can put children on a path toward lifelong well-being. Bay Mills Health Center supports local families through the Healthy Start program, which provides access to health care and resources that foster strong families.

Healthy Start is a federal program that started in 1977 to improve the overall health of mothers, infants, and families in Michigan. The family-centered program aims to level the playing field in terms of access to health care by providing services for mothers and children from pregnancy through age 5.

Understanding Healthy Start for Child Development

The Bay Mills Health Center Healthy Start program has two distinct elements: Healthy Start, which serves pregnant women and children up to age 2, and Tribal Home Visiting, which expands services up to age 5.

Healthy Start creates a medical home to support the well-being of women and infants. It promotes positive birth outcomes and maintaining good health for women through the following:

  • Screenings and referrals 

  • Case management

  • Connections to vital services 

  • Health and life skills education

  • Services to support healthy infants 

 

Tribal Home Visiting is part of the Healthy Start program. Nurses and community health workers visit parents and children at home to provide support and education on caring for children and supporting their physical, social, and emotional development.

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Benefits of Healthy Start

The Healthy Start program at Bay Mills Health Center gives local families the skills and tools to stay healthy and get on the path toward lifelong well-being. The program tracks the following:

  • Birth outcomes and healthy infant survival

  • Positive pregnancy outcomes

  • Family well-being 

  • Healthy pregnancies and newborns 

  • Positive health for women 

  • Parenting skills

  • Social, emotional, and cognitive development milestones for infants and children

  • Optimum child development

  • Family stability

 

Enrolling in Healthy Start and completing the Family Spirit curriculum with the guidance of a community health provider supports better health for Brimley and the local Michigan communities. Children are more likely to reach critical developmental milestones, thus ensuring their future success while strengthening their communities. 

Comprehensive Care for Child Development in Brimley, MI

Support for healthy child development from day one is critical to providing children with the skills they need to grow into healthy adults at Bay Mills Health Center. A solid foundation to support learning, behavior, and health starts in early childhood, a period of rapid brain development.

 

With access to the proper support for that development, children have a better chance of learning the skills they need and reaching their full potential.

  

The Bay Mills Health Center Healthy Start program provides this support by teaching parents how to care for their children, establish healthy relationships, and ensure children reach crucial social, emotional, and cognitive milestones. The child development center tailors support and education to the family’s needs and provides referrals, follow-ups, and aftercare services. 

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The Role of Bay Mills Health Center in Healthy Start

Bay Mills Health Center joined Healthy Start (Maajtaag Mnobmaadzid-Start of a Healthy Life) in 1977. The Department of Health and Human Services funds the federal/national program, and the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan provides oversight.

 

The Tribal Home Visiting program (Partnership for Anishnaabe Binoojiiyensag Family Spirit) extends the Healthy Start program, using the Family Spirit curriculum to educate and support parents. 

Healthy Start aligns with Bay Mills’ holistic approach to health care. Our comprehensive approach to care means patients can access everything they need in one location, including medical, dental, visionbehavioral health, and more. We focus on coordinating care across all specialties to support your family’s well-being at every age and stage.

Contact Bay Mills Health Center for a healthy Start Today

Families near Brimley, Michigan, can get support, education, and services that support healthy child development from pregnancy through age 5 from the comprehensive Healthy Start program at Bay Mills Health Center.

 

By closing the gaps in health care that disproportionately affect families, we’re supporting better outcomes, stronger families, and healthier children.

 

Learn more about Healthy Start or make an appointment with Bay Mills Health Center by contacting Joann LeBlanc at (906) 248-8360 for all children under the age of 2. For children over the age of 2 and under 5, please contact Evelyene McPherson at (906) 248-8375.

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