WS Chronicle

First-time moms get care they need in Forsyth County

To the Editor:

When Twymitchellyn found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t sure how to react.

“I was scared, nervous, basically, every emotion you can feel at once, that’s how I felt,” Twymitchellyn said.

She soon visited Today’s Women, where her doctor told her about a program called Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). NFP is a free program that helps expectant moms have a healthy pregnancy, a healthy birth, and helps babies have a healthy infancy. NFP connects qualified expectant moms with a free, personal nurse who stays with them until the baby’s second birthday. The nurse helps the mom with all matters of motherhood, from how to take care of themselves through pregnancy, labor and delivery to nutrition and breastfeeding.

Learning of the program, Twymitchellyn immediately enrolled in NFP and soon began working with an NFP nurse during the early stages of her pregnancy, who helped her eat right and stay healthy. She was paired with nurse Beverly who worked with her throughout her pregnancy, and continues to help her learn to care for her now 1-year-old, Diamond.

“Diamond is now 18 months, and Beverly has really been there for us,” Twymitchellyn said. “Early on, she helped me with breastfeeding and making sure Diamond was healthy and ate the right amounts of nutrients and vitamins.”

Beverly, a nurse with NFP of Forsyth County Department of Public Health, has worked for the program for two and a half years. A native of Winston-Salem, she began her nursing career at the age of 12 by volunteering as a candy striper at Forsyth Medical Center, where she would eventually work after nursing school. Since her years as a candy striper, women and babies have been her two primary passions, which made working for NFP a great fit.

“Nurse Beverly is so supportive, and helps me set goals each month. I want to be the best mom I can be for Diamond, and with Beverly by my side, I know if I work hard enough, I can be,” said Twymitcheylln. “We really work as a team. I feel lucky and grateful that NFP came into my life at the right moment.”

For pregnant women in Forsyth County who are interested in learning more about the program and getting their own free, personal nurse like Beverly, they should visit nfpmoms.org or call/text 704-332-0111.

Christine Wanous, Care Management Nursing Supervisor Nurse Family Partnership of Forsyth County Department of Public Health

Anita Earls should be on Supreme Court of North Carolina

To the Editor:

Is it too much to expect State Supreme Court Justices to deliver … dare I say it … justice? Look no further than our current General Assembly’s blatant partisan efforts to gerrymander to realize that we need strong judicial leaders who will stand up for the people of N.C., not bow down to the lawmakers.

If our state legislators succeed in stacking the deck with their own judicial candidates, there will be no checks and balances, which leads to no justice and no democracy in the Old North State.

Fortunately, we have Anita Earls, an eminently qualified candidate for N.C. Supreme Court Justice who has committed her career and life’s work to social justice for all of our state’s citizens, not just the select few who are well connected.

Anita has 30 years’ experience as a civil rights attorney, litigating voting rights and other civil rights cases. She founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, and served as its first executive director.

Anita is highly respected by government and community leaders as evidenced by her appointment by President Clinton in 1998 to serve as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She has also served on the N.C. State Board of Elections and the N.C. Equal Access to Justice Commission.

N.C. is on the precipice of becoming an oligarchy. Don’t let this happen! You must VOTE for candidates who support true democracy in our great state. Candidates like Anita Earls.

Kevin Mundy, Winston-Salem