WellCare: Guiding New Parents Through Early Childhood to Reduce Risk

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Client

https://www.wellcare.com/en/Nebraska

Solutions

Care Companion™
Care Communications™

Improving healthcare for new mothers and their newborns

New parents often struggle with where to find accurate information about what to expect with their new baby’s arrival. Helping parent(s) to understand early child-development milestones, home-safety, and how to emotionally cope with the needs of a newborn and the responsibilities it brings– and support other household members — is at the core of the Baby’s First program.

WellCare of Nebraska’s Baby’s First program was designed to help improve mother and infant health, reduce Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), and provide resources for those families in need. The program is offered to all mothers in Nebraska with no cost to enroll.

This program supports new parents and caregivers as they identify and navigate early child development milestones, home safety, and how to emotionally cope with the responsibility of a newborn.


The specific needs of each member are identified through an initial onboarding survey and ongoing data collection that stratifies subscribers by interest and risk level, delivering content and resources to support them how and when they need them most.

Nebraska-based parents and caregivers of children who are on Medicaid
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES: PROGRAM OUTCOMES:
  • Reduce incidence of shaken baby syndrome (SBS) and improve mother and infant health
 21 adverse events avoided through data collected and escalated in real-time to live case managers via the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)
  • Reduce cost of care per member per month
 75% reduction in total inpatient/readmission costs
64% less emergency room visit costs
60% reduction in total medical costs
  • Engage with members during an overwhelming time in their lives
 100% of surveyed members reported they would recommend the program to others
86% retention rate of self-enrolled participants

"We deeply recognize and celebrate the strength and fortitude of moms, especially those women living in economically underserved rural communities in Nebraska, where many may receive inadequate prenatal care with limited access to resources. That is why we were so pleased with the team from GoMo Health who has proven to be a devoted partner in investing and adapting its remote care coordination concierge system to fit the needs of rural America."

Stephen Lazoritz, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Defense and Former Medical Director at WellCare of Nebraska University of Nebraska Medical Center

Program Components

  • Care Communications:

    Upon enrollment, participants receive two to six SMS messages per week customized based on the mother’s self-expressed need for support, with some including links to a library of resources (see Care Companion). Topics include healthy child-rearing, postpartum and pediatric provider visit/vaccination reminders, education on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), calming and coping techniques, healthy-parenting motivation, and local support resources.

  • Tablet with a heart and information

    Care Companion:

    This cloud-based learning management system provides vetted educational content that is personalized by participants’ self-expressed priorities and interests, structured into easy- to-follow sections to promote independent education, learning and self-care management.

  • chart graphic

    Secure Data Collection and Reporting:

    Engagement and experience data is collected, analyzed, and reported back to providers for ongoing quality, clinical delivery, and service improvement.

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