Maternal instincts run deep in Kathleen Woods, a proud mother of three and grandmother to three grandchildren. But the number of children whose lives she has positively impacted as a public health nurse is countless.
Woods, RN, received the 2013 State of Georgia Public Health Nursing Practice Excellence Award for her efforts to improve the health and safety of young children.
“Kathy Woods is an unwavering champion of our littlest Georgians,” said Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Through her leadership and dedication to injury prevention and safe sleep for babies, Kathy has helped save the lives of hundreds of children.”
Woods, who was cited for her work with Children 1st, SAFE Kids, First Start, the Georgia Infant Safe Sleep Coalition and other initiatives, was a seasoned nurse who had practiced in mental health and other specialties before coming to public health in 1988.
“I’m not sure why it appealed to me, but I always wanted to try it,” she said. “I think it’s because you can do so many things in that role, and all of them are important and needed.
“The people I work with are amazing. There’s just something about public health nurses. They are all hard workers and they have the hugest hearts.”
Woods is coordinator of the Children’s 1st program for Cobb & Douglas County Public Health.
“This is a wonderful program within public health and everyone needs to know about it,” she said.
Part of a statewide collaborative system, the organization’s mission is to make sure that every child gets a safe and healthy start and is ready for school by age 5. Doctors, hospitals, social workers and others can refer children who they believe are at risk for medical or socioeconomic reasons. The program is free to families who are referred.
As part of Children 1st, public health nurses perform developmental screening on newborns and make home visits to families.
“Our nurses go into the homes to do a maternal/child assessment, but they are also looking for safety concerns,” Woods said. “You can’t be a nurse and not notice things. We’re checking to see that there’s adequate food, that immunizations are up to date, and that there aren’t any safety issues.
“A big part of the program is to connect families with other services and resources that can help. We often partner with Babies Can’t Wait, Children’s Medical Services and others.”
Making house calls
Woods started her public health career making those home visits.
“I never thought I would want to do that, but there’s something about going into people’s homes and making contact on their level,” she said. “In the hospital, you give instructions never knowing whether patients can or will follow them. In homes, you can see what the needs really are and find ways to address them. It’s very rewarding.”
One thing she always asked new mothers was where their infants were sleeping.
“If they gave the wrong answer, then they were going to get all my education about safe practices,” she said. “Many parents want to put the child in bed with them, thinking that they are bonding, but it’s unsafe and can cause the child to be smothered or to fall out.”
Woods and her team have gone above and beyond to educate parents about where infants should sleep. In 2006, they secured a $20,000 grant from a local foundation to purchase pack-and-play cribs for families.
In 2007, they took advantage of the Georgia Crib Match Program to acquire three additional cribs for every five they purchased.
Woods has continued to secure grants to purchase cribs, child-proofing supplies, gun locks, smoke detectors, baby gates and other supplies for her clients.
She’s also worked with the Georgia Infant Safe Sleep Coalition to study and prevent the number of sleep-related infant deaths, such as sudden infant death syndrome or sudden unexplained infant deaths.
“My friends don’t want to talk to me about their grandkids, because they know I’m going to ask if the child is sleeping on its back, without crib bumpers, stuffed animals or blankets in the bed, but I can’t help it,” Woods said. “The thought of one healthy infant dying makes me crazy, especially when it could have been prevented.”
As the coordinator, Woods doesn’t get into the field as often as she once did, but she has been going into the homes of high-risk families to teach safe parenting practices as part of a Douglas County pilot project.
“I was surprised to get a hug from a teen mother when I walked out the door the other day,” she said. “She was grateful that someone was willing to sit and talk with her and to respect that she could learn to do what was right for her child.”
Be it education or intervention, Woods believes that public health nursing improves the lives of children in Georgia.
“Recently a nurse went into a home and found an infant not breathing correctly. She got him to a doctor and now he’s OK,” she said. “Another nurse drove to several addresses in her search for a mother whose child had tested positive for cystic fibrosis in order to help her.
“I wish more money were channeled into public health. We struggle all the time to make smart decisions with our budget. We know that the teaching we do makes a difference.”
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