City Council Members, my name is Malcolm Furgol and I live and work in Frederick, MD. I am commenting on this agenda item as both a city resident and in my professional capacity as executive director for the Coalition for a Healthier Frederick County. As I stated in a letter previously submitted to you, I encourage you strongly to support $150,000 in FY2027 funding to Frederick Health Hospital to continue operating the Family Connects Frederick County universal nurse newborn home visiting program. This critical funding, along with support already committed by the state and county budgets, will allow this vital program to continue while work is done to find a sustainable financing model to bring such programming state-wide. Family Connects Frederick County has been an outstanding success with strong engagement from Frederick County families with newborns. Families across all races, ethnicities, and insurance types have welcomed a nurse visit. Since January 1, 2023 over 4,000 families have been served. Overall, City of Frederick families make up 65% of all families visited by the program. Few programs impact city residents at such scale and so deeply. In addition to checking on the health of baby and mom, nurses conduct a wholistic assessment of the family's needs and refer them to local services that can help meet these needs. They also follow up to make sure those referrals result in actual connections and help troubleshoot when the family has challenges/barriers to accessing referred services. This model has been proven to reduce the incidences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) for children and therefore improving lifelong health outcomes for children who receive a visit. This in turn leads to a long term financial benefit for families and our communities. In the short term, an independent evaluation of Family Connects Frederick County has shown over a 4:1 return for every dollar spent on the program. I honestly cannot say enough good things about the positive impact of this program. Please consider making this investment for the benefit of our children and families. Thank you for your time and leadership.
City Council Members, my name is Malcolm Furgol and I live and work in Frederick, MD. I am commenting on this agenda item as both a city resident and in my professional capacity as executive director for the Coalition for a Healthier Frederick County. As I stated in a letter previously submitted to you, I encourage you strongly to support $150,000 in FY2027 funding to Frederick Health Hospital to continue operating the Family Connects Frederick County universal nurse newborn home visiting program. This critical funding, along with support already committed by the state and county budgets, will allow this vital program to continue while work is done to find a sustainable financing model to bring such programming state-wide. Family Connects Frederick County has been an outstanding success with strong engagement from Frederick County families with newborns. Families across all races, ethnicities, and insurance types have welcomed a nurse visit. Since January 1, 2023 over 4,000 families have been served. Overall, City of Frederick families make up 65% of all families visited by the program. Few programs impact city residents at such scale and so deeply. In addition to checking on the health of baby and mom, nurses conduct a wholistic assessment of the family's needs and refer them to local services that can help meet these needs. They also follow up to make sure those referrals result in actual connections and help troubleshoot when the family has challenges/barriers to accessing referred services. This model has been proven to reduce the incidences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) for children and therefore improving lifelong health outcomes for children who receive a visit. This in turn leads to a long term financial benefit for families and our communities. In the short term, an independent evaluation of Family Connects Frederick County has shown over a 4:1 return for every dollar spent on the program. I honestly cannot say enough good things about the positive impact of this program. Please consider making this investment for the benefit of our children and families. Thank you for your time and leadership.