New Family to Family Parent/Family Liaison Links Families of Children with Special Health Care Needs to Health Information
Fri, 09/12/2014 - 12:55pm | By: Alma Ellis
Finding the best health care information can at times be overwhelming for families of children and youth with special health care needs in Mississippi. However, resources and one-on-one assistance are available.
Keishawna Smith, new parent/liaison for the Mississippi Family 2 Family Health Information and Education Center, can assist families of children with special health care needs to be partners in the decisions made concerning the health of their children.
Smith can help by providing information that is focused on community resources, creating a medical home, public and private insurance, early screenings and transition to adulthood. By contacting Smith, families can receive one-on-one assistance, join an informational monthly emailed listserv or participate in webinars developed based on the needs of families of children with disabilities.
Smith, the parent of two young children with special health care needs, is available to families statewide via the telephone and at the Family 2 Family Center with innovative health information, including information resulting from the Affordable Care Act. Smith is also the parent consultant for the Children's Medical Program's Blake Clinic at the Jackson Medical Mall and satellite centers around the state. To contact Smith, call toll free at 1.866.883.4474.
Established in 2007, the Mississippi Family 2 Family Center is administered by The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies. The center is Mississippi's Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F HIC) funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
F2F HICs are statewide, parent-run information and referral centers located in all states. Mississippi's Family 2 Family Center is a collaboration of the Children's Medical Program (CMP) of the Mississippi State Department of Health, the state's Title V program, and The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies.