Sharon Rohrbach: Nurses for Newborns

Sharon Rohrbach is saving the lives of newborn babies — preventing medical problems, neglect and even death — by reaching out to parents who need help.

As a newborn nursery nurse in St. Louis, Sharon was disturbed by the growing number of babies coming into the emergency room with life threatening illnesses that she felt could have been prevented. "So Nurses For Newborns was founded to try to make difference," says Sharon.

Since 1991, Nurses for Newborns Foundation (NFNF) sends experienced pediatric nurses into homes to teach parents how to care for their infants and recognize the signs of illness and provides at-risk children and their families with a variety of healthcare and educational services.

Originally founded to assist poverty-stricken women and children in the St. Louis area, NFNF has grown into a thriving organization with additional offices in Tennessee and Washington, DC. NFNF offers programs that serve teen moms, the mentally or physically challenged, infants that are sick, and general population families in need.

Nurses for Newborn's mission is to provide a safety net for safety net for families most at-risk to help prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect through in-home nursing visits providing healthcare, education and positive parenting skills. In addition to providing medical services, the nurses serve as case managers for each family. They assist families in getting connected with any additional medical, social or government services they may need. They maintain a donation bank with clothes, toys, diapers, blankets, car seats, baby beds and formula for our families that are in need.

"We're very excited about the effectiveness of our teen parent program," Sharon says. "Most of that success is really due to the nurses being a mentor, encouraging [teen moms] to stay in school and to really do something with their life."

Sharon Rohrbach is a recipient of Oprah's Angel Network Use Your Life Award.

http://www.nfnf.org/index.php

http://www.oprah.com/uyl/angel/uyl_angel_20010129.jhtml