Winker Kimberly, Author at Bay Area Hospital

The Bay Area medical community is rallying together to continue home visiting for families within Coos County and surrounding areas. Last week, Bay Area Hospital announced that as of Feb. 9, 2025 it could no longer offer the home visiting services provided through its MOMS (Management of Maternal Services) program. Home visiting through MOMS is offered to every new parent in our community. MOMS has served families throughout the South Coast for more than a quarter century.

South Coast Early Learning Hub is committed to working with Bay Area Hospital and other community partners to again offer nurse home visiting by late 2025. Currently, South Coast Early Learning Hub is exploring which organization can serve as the new provider for nurse home visiting at no-cost to every family in the South Coast with a newborn.

“The MOMS program has been a cornerstone of support for new parents in our community, and we are deeply committed to continuing this vital service,” said Sara Stephens, Director, South Coast Early Learning. “The community response to the impending end of MOMS has highlighted the strong support for continuing this important work. We are actively seeking a new implementation partner to ensure that families have access to nurse home visiting services that have been so valuable for many years.”

Bay Area Hospital will continue to support expecting parents ahead of their newborn’s arrival with prenatal classes, as well as postnatal lactation and feeding support.

“Those who understand the pride that Bay Area Hospital has for this program can understand how heartbroken we are to make this decision,” said Brian Moore, President and CEO of Bay Area Hospital. “We are excited to see a new community partner resume the home visits and see it as a continuation of the MOMS legacy. Not only will we partner to refer patients to the program, we are happy to share our knowledge and experience to help get the program up and running as quickly as possible.”

Moore stated that the MOMS program has been supported financially by Bay Area Hospital with some grant funding to offer the service at no-cost to South Coast families. Financial headwinds along with increased program costs, such as travel, and the unreliability of long-term, sustainable grant funding led Bay Area Hospital to stop its nurse home visiting program.

Families with newborns and young children can continue to access other support services now from community partners through the South Coast Early Learning Hub. “We anticipate providing updates on our search for a home visiting provider by late spring,” Sara Stephens, Director, South Coast Early Learning Hub added. “Together, we are committed to ensuring that the essential support for new families remains a priority in our community.”

The South Coast Early Learning (SCREL) Hub’s aim is to help children get a health and well-rounded start so they arrive at kindergarten ready to thrive. Designed for families with children under age eight who call Coos, Curry or Coastal Douglas home, we’re the connection point to resources like Preschool Promise, Baby Promise, Parenting, voluntary in-home support programs and more. Find out more at https://screlhub.org/find-programs/ to learn more about what’s available.