NORWICH – Planned Parenthood of South Central New York has long been providing prenatal care to uninsured pregnant women in the area, and after seeing their 2,500th patient (for several years, the organization didn’t keep track of how many patients they had seen) the program directors hope more women in need will utilize their services.
The Prenatal Care Assistance Program helps pregnant, uninsured women who meet their income guidelines. The program covers the full cost of prenatal health care, including doctor visits, lab work, ultrasounds – including three dimensional ultrasounds – pregnancy-related prescriptions and dental visits during pregnancy.
“PCAP is a hospital-based program,” explained Registered Nurse Sarah Bohnert. “We offer financial, emotional and educational services to women in need.” PCAP works with Chenango Memorial Hospital, sending patients to CMH for prenatal visits and delivery. In addition, patients have four visits with Bohnert throughout their pregnancy.
“It’s a great connection to other agencies. We have the ability to help with other resources,” Bohnert explained, saying she has been able to find reliable child safety seats and sometimes even housing for patients with no where to go.
“Most of my patients are younger,” she said. “Sixty percent are first time moms, but we do have a lot of repeat customers and I think that speaks as a credit to the program.” Currently the program has 103 active patients, meaning they have not yet delivered.
Patients of the PCAP program said attending the program has been informative, fun and has helped to ease their anxieties about pregnancy- related concerns. Sammie Buttice, one of the patients of the program, explained that she felt comfortable calling Bohnert in between doctors visits to ask about questions, problems and concerns, and as a new mother herself, Bohnert said a lot of times she had similar concerns with her own pregnancy.
“When it’s your first pregnancy, everything is a mystery,” Bohnert said. She encourages her patients to call her with any questions or concerns.
Another patient, Laurel Terras, explained the program has been a great source of resourcing, putting her in touch with agencies like the Tobacco Free Chenango Program, which offers expectant mothers a year’s supply of diapers if they quit smoking.
The patients said they enjoy the consistency of the program, where Bohnert is the only nurse, so you see the same person every visit. “With the doctors, you never know who you are going to get,” Terras said. “[PCAP] provides you with the basic tools you need to get started.”
The PCAP program includes four visits with the PCAP nurse, in addition to the regular prenatal care appointments. Patients meet with Bohnert three times during the pregnancy and once after. During the visits, they are given information on various programs and agencies and information on pregnancy and child birth. At the end of the program, patients are also given a new outfit for the baby and the book “What to Expect: The First Year.”
Patients are also eligible to take a child birth class in between their second and third visits. Bohnert is pleased with her patients participation in the class. “During the last class their were 10 patients enrolled, eight of them were from the PCAP program.”
Randi McEwan and Danny Rice, a couple who recently had a baby girl after going through the PCAP program, said they couldn’t wait to come back for appointments with Bohnert. “There was a lot of information on colic and what to expect, stuff the nurses didn’t really tell us,” Rice said. Even though McEwan had already experienced pregnancy before, she said she still got a lot of information she didn’t know about. “I’ve referred a lot of my friends to the program,” McEwan said.
For more information about PCAP or to determine if you are eligible, contact Planned Parenthood at 336-8269. Planned Parenthood is located in the Eaton Center, Suite 208.