Sarasota Memorial Hospital recently hired two employees to build and oversee the Patient Navigator Pilot Program for First 1,000 Days Sarasota County. Dr. Chelsea Arnold was hired as program coordinator and Chanel Roberts was hired as patient navigator.

First 1,000 Days is a partner-led coalition of healthcare, early childhood, human service, government and philanthropic agencies dedicated to helping mothers and young children by improving the system of care primarily for those mothers who received little to no prenatal care during pregnancy.

The Patient Navigator Pilot Program at Sarasota Memorial Hospital is one of several recommendations made by the First 1,000 Days partners to build a more navigable system of care and better connect families—particularly the 52 percent of babies in Sarasota County born into poverty—to available community resources. The initiative, spearheaded by Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, is funded fully through philanthropic support during the three-year pilot period.

“Sarasota Memorial is excited to be the backbone organization for First 1,000 Days,” said Pam Beitlich, executive director of Women and Children’s Services at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. “We understand that being a new mom is amazing, and it’s a lot. Coordinating and navigating available services will make all the difference.”