Bridgeport-resident and Nicuragua-native Amy Torrez gave birth to her first child, daughter Chiara, six weeks ago.
Since then, the single mom has found new housing and is navigating the world of motherhood, with assistance from a community health worker, assigned to her through Bridgeport Hospital.
“To be honest, the only person that really showed me concern about my safety and my baby's safety was Rosie [the community health worker], not even my family,” Torrez said through a Spanish-language translator.
It was Rosie who identified a suspicious oil or gas spill in Torrez’s apartment and helped secure temporary housing, until Torrez found a more permanent solution.
Torrez, 19, moved to the U.S. two years ago, and is one of several hundred mothers who have benefited from Connecticut’s Family Bridge pilot program. It provides at-home health care for new mothers and their newborns.
“This program is very important. It is instrumental in this situation,” Torrez said.
The program, which began in October of last year, has treated about 750 newborn babies over the course of about 1,000 at-home visits.
Seven community health workers and nurses visit the homes and do routine medical checks. They also connect families to social services and resources, providing diapers and formula. The providers are all employed by Bridgeport Hospital.
Families are offered up to three home visits with a registered nurse and several with a certified community health worker.
The program addresses more than strictly medical needs for its patients, said Dr. Manisha Juthani, state Department of Public Health commissioner.
“If a community health worker is able to help somebody every day trying to figure out how she’s gonna survive one day to the next, that’s very different than only the nursing support,” Juthani said.
Currently, Family Bridge serves families in Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Shelton, Stratford and Trumbull.
A family is eligible for the program if they live in one of those communities and gave birth at St. Vincent’s or Bridgeport Hospitals.
Fairfield resident Jose Del Pezo said the visiting nurse was integral in catching his wife’s postpartum preeclampsia after the birth of their second child, Leonardo, which resulted in a weekend hospital stay.
“Just the input of a professional really kind of changed the way you view things,” Del Pezo said. “If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't know really what would be happening, if the hospital visit would have been later.”
The program, which is funded through December 2026 with COVID-19 relief dollars, will expand to Norwich’s Backus Hospital in January. However, state leaders are already brainstorming new avenues for funding.
