Healthy Start is a federal program funded through the Health Resources and Services Administrations (HRSA) dedicated to reducing disparities in maternal and infant health status in high-risk communities. At the Southern Nevada Health District, the Healthy Start program provides home visiting services to provide education, support and linkage to available community resources. This home visiting program is free and voluntary. To enroll, a woman must be pregnant, or have a child younger than 12 months old. Fathers are encouraged to join the program if they are connected to a mother who is already enrolled.

The program will serve Clark County, with the following zip codes with pre-term birth rates over 10.5 per 100 births as priority zip codes:

89005, 89030, 89031, 89032, 89081, 89084, 89085, 89086, 89101, 89102, 89104, 89106, 89108, 89109, 89110, 89115, 89121, 89122, 89128, 89130, 89131, 89142, 89145, 89146, 89156, 89169, 89179

The Healthy Start Program will serve women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, but our focus population is African American/Black women of childbearing age. Community health workers will complete home visits with participants on a weekly to bi-weekly basis to provide education, resources, and support. We also encourage fathers and other family members to be involved during home visits. A community health nurse will also be involved throughout the duration of the program.

Healthy Start’s overall program goals are to improve health outcomes in women during and after pregnancy and to reduce racial and ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse maternal health outcomes.