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Pretty-as-a-postcard Orange County California would probably not top any list of places where people thought there would be a lack of prenatal care for women who need or cannot afford adequate health coverage. Yet that’s exactly the situation the county faced a few years ago. In fact, it was more than a “situation.” It was a crisis. Thousands of moms-to-be were simply not getting the medical attention they needed, resulting in unhealthy pregnancies and unhealthy babies. With an unwavering zeal, the Orange County community came together to address the problem, resulting in the establishment in 1992 of MOMS Orange County, a organization that today provides critical services to more than 5,000 under insured pregnant and parenting women each year, serving more than 15,000 families.
It’s not the job Pam Pimentel, RN and CEO of MOMS Orange County intended to have when she earned her Nursing Degree at San Bernardino University and Bachelor of Science Degree at Chapman University. She had planned to leave nursing and use a degree in psychology to help families with maternal-child health issues, but an offer to be a nurse administrator changed things. It was the first step on a journey that began as a Maternal-Child Health Clinical Registered Nurse at the Western Medical Center in Sana Ana, continued as Director of Maternal-Child Health Outpatient Services at Tenet Health Care Western Medical Centers in Santa Ana and Anaheim, and ultimately to the top spot at MOMS Orange County, where she has been running the show for more than a decade.
No one could be more well-suited for the position. Her passion for women and children’s health began at home. “My own mother is an incredibly strong woman and my relationship with her laid a foundation for me about a woman’s worth and strength, in the family and society as a whole, “ Pam recalls.
No one knows better what it means to have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby – and what it means not to.
In the weeks before her second child was due, she became very ill. Pam’s daughter, Annemarie, was born almost 10 weeks prematurely and spent the first five weeks of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Everyday, Pam would look at her tiny little girl having to rely on big, noisy machines for survival. With a poignancy that can come only from a mother, she describes it as “one of the most heart-wrenching experiences I have ever faced.”
“Here I was, a registered nurse with professional experience in the NICU, surrounded by the love and support of my family and friends, yet I felt very much alone and utterly helpless as a mother of a very sick baby.
“Having gone through the experience of having a baby born sick, and being able to truly understand the trauma and emotional burden on a family, was the final push for me and what really sealed my drive and passion. I vividly remember the devastation, the fear of not just my own mortality, but the fears of its impact on my family, a fear of the unknown and the haunting anxiety wondering what the long-term effects of a sick child might be. Truly, it was then that I thought, ‘If my work can help prevent even one baby from being born sick and prevent the subsequent heartache and trauma on a family, I can go home happy.’ To this day, what drives me is the deep and abiding belief that a baby born sick can unearth a lifetime of struggle, but when a baby is born healthy – all good things in life are possible.”
Pam knows it takes more than just believing. It takes vision, teamwork, passion and funding. Never one to seek credit, she praises MOMS Orange County’s staff for their “incredible devotion and drive” and the Children & Families Commission of Orange County’s (CFCOC) use of Proposition 10 funds for having a “huge impact,” enabling MOMS Orange County to enhance its already successful program by extending services until a baby's first birthday through infant development screenings, education, and referrals.
”With the CFCOC’s investment, MOMS Orange County is able to build upon the trusting relationship with our client families, educating parents on early brain development, sharing and modeling positive play activities for early brain stimulation, screening infants for achievements of developmental milestones, and if needed, referring infants with delays for appropriate medical intervention.“
It is this extension of post-birth assistance, made possible by Prop 10 funds, that really excites Pam because it brings the child into the program. MOMS Orange County can now follow pregnant mothers, their babies and their families up until the baby’s first birthday, sometimes as long as 18 months, making sure newborns have access to the help they need to get off to a healthy start in the earliest stages of their life.
To Pam, access is the key. She believes that lack of access to good prenatal and post-birth care poses a serious risk to mother and child. “It’s all about the right care at the right time,” Pam says. To emphasize her point, she cites a study of survival rates of passengers on the Titanic, which found that 63% of first class passengers survived, compared to only 24.5% of third class passengers. And when it comes to children, the statistics are even more telling: 86% of children in first class survived, compared to less than half of children in third class.
“There was nothing physically special about the passengers traveling first class. The only reason more survived is because more had access to lifeboats. They were able to get what they needed when they needed it, and that’s what we’re all about at MOMS Orange County,” Pam states.
Many clients need help at the very start of their pregnancy. Usually referred by word of mouth, or sometimes even by physicians, expectant mothers are often concerned and confused. Some are downright frightened. But to a person, they all ask the same question: “Will my baby be okay?”
Making sure the answer will be “yes” is what Pam Pimentel and her extraordinary team work toward every day. It is truly a powerhouse of expertise, empathy and energy. Together, the team has more than 125 years experience in maternal-child health nursing and health care administration. All maternal-child health coordinators and health educators are bilingual, and each has at least five years experience in maternal-child health and/or a Bachelor’s degree in a health related field. A registered dietician complete the leadership team.
The first step in the process is having a health care coordinator go to the expecting mother wherever and whenever she can meet – at home, work, a local library, a friend’s house – to do a comprehensive “intake assessment” of her entire situation. Everything from food to family to finances is discussed. The coordinator then returns to MOMS Orange County, prepares a detailed report, which is in turn reviewed by a registered nurse, and an individually customized program of goals and milestones is developed with the client.
The health care coordinator and her client become true partners, working closely together through the full course of the pregnancy, and for up to 12 months after the child is born. Throughout the process, every assessment by every health coordinator is evaluated by one of MOMS Orange County’s five registered nurses to make certain nothing is missed that and that the best possible quality of care is being provided.
MOMS Orange County is making a huge difference. Orange County babies are thriving beyond their counterparts elsewhere in U.S. That makes Pamela Pimentel happy, but she still worries. Every day she checks the waiting list to see how many expectant mothers have called, but cannot get the level of support that Pam would like to provide because there are not enough staff members to visit everyone who needs help. And she worries about budget issues that could impact the ability of MOMS Orange County to serve the community.
But her concerns are tempered by a natural optimism, and gratitude for the support MOMS Orange County receives from organizations such as the CFCOC. “I am thankful for that every day. The Commission is the best friend a new baby can have.”
Pamela Pimentel is successful because she has a clear vision of what she wants to accomplish. “My dream for Orange County’s future is that every expectant mother in Orange County has access to MOMS Orange County and our education and support services. Until that dream becomes a reality, my goal is to continue our work with pregnant mothers and families who may be eager to learn but are in greatest need—living in poverty, uninsured, and having little to no access to health care.”
Spoken like a true CEO.