Beginning in fall 2021, our team spent time understanding the data and uncovering what issues were affecting the most people in our community. We also interviewed community leaders to find out what they’re most concerned about. To identify the significant health issues in our community, our key partners reviewed data and discussed the facts and circumstances of our community. We used the following criteria to identify significant health issues:

● Data is related to past health priorities

● Data reflects a concerning trend related to size or severity

● Significant disparities exist

● Issue surfaced as a topic of high community concern

● County data deviates notably from the region, state or benchmark

Once our team made sense of the data, we presented key health issues to a wide range of partners and community members. The participants used the information we presented to score each issue, and then vote for their top areas of concern. They considered the severity of the issue, the relevancy of the issue, and the feasibility in improving the issue.

Prenatal Care was identified as one of those priorities because it is important not only to the health of the baby, but also the health of our families. We see prenatal care as more than just receiving clinical care during pregnancy. Prenatal care includes support and education for the families during the pregnancy and ensuring that support continues after the child is born. Prenatal Care can help prevent complications and inform families about important steps they can take to protect their infant and ensure a healthy life. 

The following actions have been identified by our partners as ideas for what can work to help make a difference with this priority.

Actions and Approaches Identified by Our Partners These are actions and approaches that our partners think can make a difference on prenatal care.

• More support groups

• Teen Pregnancy Programs

• No wrong door approach for OB Care

• OB Care Management

• Prevention programs

• Mobile resource teams

What is Currently Working in Our Community These are actions and approaches that are currently in place in our community to make a difference on prenatal care.

• Community Support

• Access to pregnancy tests and prenatal resources

• Community partnerships

• WIC Program

• Peer Counselors and School Nurses

• Polk County Transportation 

• Pregnancy Care Management Program

Evidence-Based Strategies These are actions and approaches that have been shown to make a difference on prenatal care.

• OB Care Management

• Support groups

• Teen Programs to implement inside the school

What Community Members Most Affected by Prenatal Care Say These are the actions and approaches recommended by members of our community who are most affected by prenatal care.

• Easier access to benefits is needed

• Expand Pregnancy Care Management to those who don't receive Medicaid

• More providers

• Need more parenting classes

• Need more education around Prenatal Care

• Need for daycares

The partners who can play a role in this priority include: 

• Headstart

• Polk County Health and Human Services Agency

• Blue Ridge Community Health

• Thermal Belt Outreach

• St. Luke's Hospital

• TrueRidge

• Polk County EMS

• Child Family Resource Center - Aspire

• Local Providers

• Economic Development Commission 

Prenatal Care and the related result, "All Polk County Families Have Access to Quality Prenatal Care and Support", are aligned with the following Healthy NC 2030 health indicators and desired results:

• Early Prenatal Care- Improve birth outcomes

• Infant Mortality- Decrease infant mortality