Key Takeaways:

• The Telfair BirthPlace has two dedicated clinical care social workers who see each patient
• They can assist with resources such as breast pumps, insurance questions and postpartum depression help
• St.  Joseph’s/Candler also offers WIC assistance through the Health Department for moms who need support
• Our goals include a safe and healthy delivery for mom and baby and that you can go home with the resources and tools you need

St. Joseph’s/Candler has two dedicated clinical care social workers to assist all moms with needed resources

Becoming a mom – especially for the first time – can be both joyous and overwhelming. At the Telfair BirthPlace at St. Joseph’s/Candler, we believe all parents can benefit from support at the time of conception to birth to the early years of a child’s life.

And we offer this support not just with excellent doctors and nurses, but also a full support team that includes social workers and case managers.

At the Telfair BirthPlace, we have two dedicated clinical care social workers who see every patient – Kaniece Waller (pictured on the left) and Tia Fletcher.

“Do they need anything socially? Do they need a car seat, formula, or if they are breastfeeding, a breast pump?” Waller says. “We find out if moms need anything as far as postpartum depression resources – because all moms do a postpartum depression survey – and we can provide those resources.”

“We find out their needs and use the resources we have available to help with those needs.”

Why is this important to St. Joseph’s/Candler? Our goal is for a safe delivery and a healthy and happy mom and newborn. And we want the safe, healthy and happy part to continue even after you leave our hospital doors.

That’s why it’s important to us to provide you with as many resources, services and needed goods as we possibly can for an optimal start to your baby’s life.

“I think the fact that St. Joseph’s/Candler has two dedicated social workers for Mother/Baby so that we can see every patient, says a lot that we care about moms,” Waller says. “We care not just getting you through a safe delivery but also when you get home, we make sure you have the things you need already in place.”

Other resources available to mom

One of the newer resources available to qualified moms is WIC assistance. Representatives from the Chatham County Health Department come to the hospital three days a week to sign moms up for WIC services.

“Then they can leave the hospital with their WIC card so they are able to go straight from here if they need to for milk, formula or whatever they need,” Waller says. “Why we want WIC representatives on site is because we had a lot of moms leaving the hospital and their WIC appointment was two weeks away but they didn’t have any milk. Moms are really loving this resource being available.”

Another area our clinical care social workers facilitate is discharge planning. They work directly with nurses to make sure moms received everything they needed while in the hospital and also are going home with things they need.

Not every family needs help or outside resources, but Waller and Fletcher find moms appreciate being checked on, even during what can be an overwhelming time.

“I think they welcome our visits, but also we know it can be overwhelming,” Fletcher says. “They think they may be able to get some rest after delivery, but we know there are constant knocks at the door. Our biggest thing is to congratulate you, ask what you need and get out. We leave our contact information with them so they can use it when they are ready.”

“I think both of us having kids too helps a lot,” Waller adds. “When moms find out we have children, they see we can relate and see we’ve been there before. We actually both delivered at Candler Hospital.”

Our clinical care social workers visit with each patient at least once during your visit, but they encourage moms to take their cards to call them anytime – that means even after you leave the hospital.

And if you think you could use the services of one of our social workers before your delivery, talk to your OB/GYN about getting you in touch with a Telfair BirthPlace clinical care social worker.

“We want moms to know we are here for you,” Fletcher says. “We are not here to judge you. We are here to help.”