CRH Foundation to Establish Nurse Partnership Program

Columbus Regional Health Foundation has received a $1.5 million gift that it says will help establish the Nurse Family Partnership Endowment Fund. The gift from Christine and Tom Vujovich will support the local Nurse-Family Partnership program, facilitated through nonprofit Healthy Communities.

The home visitation program connects registered nurses with first-time, at-risk moms and families. The foundation says the funding will enable the local NFP program to be expanded within five years, increasing the number of NFP nurses serving Bartholomew County.

“Our community continues to benefit immensely from the pilot created through the partnership with the Heritage Fund as well as now through the generosity of the Vujoviches,” said CRH Foundation President Julie Abedian. “As a nationwide program, Nurse Family Partnership has been changing the lives of vulnerable new mothers, their children and families for many years. This endowment fund will significantly boost an already great local program. We are hopeful that our partnership model of a hospital foundation, community foundation and generous philanthropist can be replicated to spread NFP nurses through the state and nation.”

The foundation says data indicates families that work with an NFP nurse have better maternal and child health throughout their lifetimes, as well as higher educational attainment, lower rates of substance use disorder, lower smoking rates, and lower incarceration rates.