Spotlight on Community Health: Stories of Healing and Hope

In addition to our shared mission of “helping people live the healthiest lives possible,” our Catholic care sites are guided by this mission: “We reveal and foster God’s healing love by improving the health of the people and communities we serve, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.” Core to the identity of our Catholic ministry within Intermountain Health is our commitment to the dignity of every person, acting on behalf of justice, and caring for the poor and vulnerable. Community health work is at the heart of the mission and ministry of our Catholic entities.

The Baby Bootique at Saint Joseph Hospital exemplifies how we implement our mission and ministry.

As we advance our approach to addressing community health, we continually seek to move our efforts upstream to better influence conditions that lead to prevalent community health issues. One illustration of this upstream approach is found in our strategy for addressing an aspect of health equity at birth: reducing disparities in birth outcomes between affluent parents and those with fewer resources.

Our Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado, engages vulnerable families in the Baby Bootique program. This program incentivizes expectant families receiving prenatal care in the clinics associated with Saint Joseph Hospital’s Graduate Medical Education clinics and Marisol Health (a program of Catholic Charities) to influence healthy birth outcomes. Families earn coupons by participating in healthy behaviors during pregnancy, including attending regularly scheduled prenatal visits, making positive health changes, and taking classes to prepare for birth and parenting. Families can then redeem the coupons in the Baby Bootique for much-needed baby items such as car seats, strollers, blankets, diapers, and clothing.

About 300-400 families participate annually in the Saint Joseph Hospital Baby Bootique program. These participants have an average low birthweight percentage close to the Colorado average of 8.9%, while those not participating experience a low birthweight percentage nearing 14%. Since its inception in 1997, Saint Joseph Hospital has invested $1.7 million in the Baby Bootique program and served thousands of families. By encouraging a healthy start for babies and supporting families in need, the program upholds our Catholic mission and identity while simultaneously reducing the cost of care, reducing family stress, and increasing the opportunity for these families to improve their health.

Learn more about our Catholic care sites’ care here.