First 1,000 Days Sarasota Launches Parent Portal and Care Coordination System

November 2, 2020 – Sarasota

When a mom leaves Sarasota Memorial Hospital with her newborn, there’s a maze of community resources to help her baby thrive. But navigating it alone can be overwhelming even for the savviest mother. A first-of-its-kind program now promises she won’t have to go it alone.

First 1,000 Days Sarasota has launched a digital parent portal (www.first1000dayssarasota.com) for families to instantly connect with community resources and access brain-boosting activities for their babies.

Housed in the online portal is a referral system to help parents get connected with a streamlined network of social services. Families can sign up free-of-charge to ask for parenting education, healthcare, food, financial assistance, and other resources vital in laying a strong foundation for their child. Case managers on the other end act as a family’s personal concierge for support.

“Raising a baby is hard even for the most well-connected families,” says Teri A Hansen, President|CEO of Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. “This system provides an equitable platform for all babies to receive fair and just delivery of support. This is the biggest gamechanger to human services I have seen since arriving on the Gulf Coast.”

First 1,000 Days Sarasota was born in 2018 after statistics showed that 52 percent of babies delivered in Sarasota County are brought home to households under the poverty line. That number is now 56 percent. Sarasota Memorial Hospital is a leading partner in the initiative and has adapted their case management practices to better connect these vulnerable patients with social service programs. These families often lack stable housing, food, healthcare, and other resources key to babies’ foundational physical, emotional and intellectual development.

The new referral system is powered by Unite Us, a nationally recognized coordinated care technology. It allows local doctor offices, healthcare agencies, social services, and mental health organizations to promptly connect families to resources as challenges arise, leading to better outcomes and accountability. More than 70 partner organizations are working together to create a continuum of care that will meet the comprehensive needs of these families.

“This work is the singular most inspiring project I and my colleagues have done in our tenure,” says Pam Beitlich, executive director of Women & Children’s Services at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. “ In 2018 we made a promise to do better for our most vulnerable children. Here’s what we have to show for that promise.”

From the very beginning of pregnancy through our third birthday, human brains undergo a period of rapid growth. During the first 1,000 days of life, children are hardwired in ways that have lifelong consequences.

Babies who have healthcare, good nutrition, stable homes, loving relationships, and early childhood education start life with a strong foundation for success. Those who aren’t so fortunate are swaddled in a myriad of challenges. These babies are often disconnected from support services until they enter the public school system—missing the benefit of developmentally supportive programs during their most formative years.

The parent portal also contains a free sign up for Every Day Brain Boosts, a free text messaging service that sends weekly science-based tips, activities, and videos to parents to help boost their child’s development. The texts offer activity ideas based on five basic principles: maximize love and manage stress; talk and sing; count and compare; explore through play; and read stories.

So far, almost 500 referrals have been placed through the First 1,000 Days platform. Through the closed-loop referral system, professionals working directly with families will have peace of mind they are able to connect families with someone who can address their needs.

To see the parent portal, visit www.first1000dayssarasota.com