By Anita Smith
Mark E. Wilson, MD, who retired October 1 after twelve years as Jefferson County Health Officer, recently was at the center of two accolades, one for himself and one for the Nurse-Family Partnership of Central Alabama, operated by the UAB School of Nursing, for which he has been a staunch advocate.
Through NFP, a national program dating back to 1977 that the School brought first to Jefferson County in 2017, specially trained nurses visit in homes of at risk, first-time mothers-to-be—partnering with moms during pregnancy and the first two years of their babies’ lives. These nurses guide moms toward prenatal care and healthy lifestyles, help with breastfeeding and mother-baby bonding, and introduce educational and career opportunities that could help lift moms into financial independence. The NFP at the UAB School of Nursing is directed by Associate Professor Candace Knight, PhD, RN, FAAN (BSN 1997, PhD 2013).
Wilson’s role in establishing the local NFP was a funding role. It was he who introduced the NFP concept to the Jefferson County Board of Health, the governing body of the Jefferson County Department of Health which Wilson has headed. Providing more than $3 million in support to the local NFP since 2017, the JCDH has become the local NFP’s biggest funding source. These monies come through the Board of Health’s Public Health Advised Fund, which makes possible grants awarded through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham to support local projects advancing public health. Several other community donors also have contributed financial support to the local NFP.
For his efforts, Wilson received the Doreen C. Harper Community Partner Award during the School’s Alumni Night ceremonies September 14 for helping to establish the local NFP program. Too, the School’s NFP program has received the 2023 Exemplary Academic-Practice Partnership Award of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Wilson hailed the School’s NFP program as an investment in lives of new moms and their babies, as well as a weapon against high infant death rates and birth complications.
“Nurses from the UAB School of Nursing are showing such love and support to new moms who face so many extraordinary challenges,” said Wilson. He said he has heard of some mothers who view these nurses as their “best friends.”
“It’s also very challenging to take big numbers like infant mortality rates or pre-term birth rates or low birth weights and changes those on an overall population level. It’s very hard to do. But the Nurse Family Partnership of Central Alabama has done that.”
He praised others who also helped to lay local NFP groundwork. He said he was introduced to the NFP concept by Carol Butler, executive director of the Birmingham-based Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation; Butler had worked with a successful NFP based in the Montgomery area. Too, Wilson came to believe the UAB School of Nursing would be ideal to run a local NFP after conversations with Cynthia S. Selleck, PhD, RN, FAAN, at that time the School’s Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships. “The UAB School of Nursing is a great partner!” said Wilson.
He also praised the School for bringing students into the NFP for training opportunities.
“To me, the idea of this being part of a learning environment, a teaching environment, was important. It improves our chances of having future nurses who see this as one of the paths they can take in their career.”
Wilson’s successor as Jefferson County Health Officer, David B. Hicks, DO, MPH, FAAFP, praised local NFP success. “The Jefferson County Department of Health, under the leadership of Dr. Mark Wilson, identified the UAB School of Nursing as the best partner to run the Nurse-Family Partnership in Jefferson County, given the School’s exemplary track record of commitment to the community, academic rigor, and proven success,” said Hicks. “This partnership is a great example of how we can work together to address the social determinants of maternal and child health with evidence-based strategies.”
