NJ's First Lady learns how AtlantiCare delivers more than expected.

For Immediate Release: July 13, 2023

NJ’s First Lady learns how AtlantiCare delivers more than expected

ATLANTIC CITY - “I feel like I’ve had a village caring for my baby, my family and me,” says Teela Grayson, of Atlantic City, of care AtlantiCare has provided her before, during and after the birth of her third child last August. Grayson, an AtlantiCare Safe Beginnings mother, will celebrate her baby Grace’s first birthday in August. She is among Safe Beginnings participants, healthcare providers, and partners of the program who met with New Jersey First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy on July 12. AtlantiCare hosted the discussion at its Medical Arts Pavilion in Atlantic City, home of Safe Beginnings.

First Lady Murphy and first ladies of Alaska, Rhode Island, and Utah attended the listening and learning event as part of the First Lady’s National Governors Association Spouses’ Program initiative “Creating a National Model to Tackle the Maternal and Infant Health Crisis,” expanding her Nurture NJ initiative, which inspired AtlantiCare’s program.

“As we gather for the final convening of my time as Chair of the National Governors Association Spouses’ Program, it is wonderful to show my fellow spouses just some of the work we have been able to accomplish here in New Jersey,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “The AtlantiCare team has been partners of my Nurture NJ initiative since the beginning, and I am so proud to highlight their work here today.”

Highlights attendees discussed included:

• Access to resources, being uninsured or underinsured, lack of transportation, food and housing insecurity, and other factors increases risk of maternal and infant mortality.
• Regardless of income, age, educational level and other factors, Black women are at higher risk of pregnancy and postpartum complications.
• Leveraging every expert and resource, meeting families where they are, and taking a holistic approach to care are essential elements to ensuring wellbeing of families.

“It is our privilege to provide the comprehensive care and services so critical to giving moms, babies, and families a healthy start,” said Sandra Garrett, MBA, RPh, BSPharm, AVP, Women’s and Children’s Services. “We are grateful to our community partners and for our dedicated AtlantiCare team, who ensure we make a difference for families throughout our participants’ pregnancies through their babies’ first birthdays – and beyond.”

About AtlantiCare Safe Beginnings

Based in AtlantiCare’s Medical Arts Pavilion in Atlantic City, AtlantiCare’s Safe Beginnings program launched in 2021 through a $1,305,536 New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) grant. The CRDA provided an additional $134,244 support grant in 2022. The program brings together the birthing team, including a neonatologist, a certified nurse midwife, certified doulas, registered nurses, a social worker, a peer specialist and other members of AtlantiCare’s Women’s and Children’s Services team. They collaborate to care for women, babies and families during pregnancy and in the critical months after childbirth, up to the baby’s first birthday. The program’s Neonatal Intensive Care Transition of Care Clinic provides continued specialized services for babies who need specialized care after they leave the AtlantiCare Center for Childbirth’s Level III NICU.

Using a special Safe Beginnings vehicle, members of the team visit mothers and families in their homes or other locations in the community – meeting them where it is most convenient to ensure they get the care and services they need and deserve. AtlantiCare’s Safe Beginnings Team also provides families with access to free equipment and accessories, including car seats, bassinettes, strollers and other items, to support families in need and keep babies safe and healthy. Additionally, the team holds quarterly baby showers, celebrations, and other activities to bring women and families together for shared experiences. These events usually feature an educational component and include participation by, and support from AtlantiCare community partners. AtlantiCare engaged more than 100 women in participating in the program in 2022.

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AtlantiCare is an integrated healthcare system based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose more than 6,000 staff, providers and volunteers serve the community in more than 100 locations in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Ocean counties of southern New Jersey. Its vision of building healthy communities together drives its mission of making a difference in health and healing, one person at a time, through caring and trusting relationships. A Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, AtlantiCare was also included in Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center was the 105th hospital in the nation to attain the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet™ designation in 2004 and earned redesignation in 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023. Learn more at atlanticare.org or 1-888-569-1000.