York Region Public Health nurse Julie McWilliams has worked with expectant families for more than 20 years.
As part of her role, she helps administer the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program. Alongside social workers, she will visit families expecting children to help provide information on having a healthy child while identifying potential risks and issues ahead of time.
McWilliams said she is grateful for the program she has worked in for decades.
“It’s extremely rewarding, and I think we get the opportunity to work alongside families who are extremely vulnerable and support them in numerous ways, and it’s so helpful for them,” McWilliams said.
The provincial government announced a funding boost for the York Region’s program Nov. 22, with more than $809,000 going toward it.
Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy said family well-being is at the heart of the province’s vision.
“Healthy babies is what we want, and healthy babies is what you’re providing to York Region families,” Gallagher Murphy said.
The program funding is appreciated, York Regions’ acting medical officer of health Dr. Sarah Erdman said. She added that York Region gets stable funding of about $4.4 million annually from the province for the program, but this is the first time the province has increased that funding in about 10 years.
She said the funding will go a long way and will help with a current focus on the mental health of families in the program.
“We know that when we help women, moms, new moms, new families, have that first attachment with their new baby, it goes such a long way,” she said. “It just pays dividends … down the road for years and years to come in terms of health outcomes.”
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor offered some statistics from the program, which has been in place for more than 20 years. In 2023, of the more than 9,000 babies born in the region, more than 7,000 individuals were screened by the program. Close to 3,000 families were identified with risks to healthy child development and 89 per cent of those accepted home visit services. The program team conducted more than 4,500 home visits.
“These numbers reflect the profound differences this program is making in the lives of parents and children in our community,” Taylor said. “Every dollar spent in public health is saving dollars in the health-care system, and we should be investing as much as we possibly can in prevention.”
The province has similarly been announcing more funding for Healthy Babies Healthy Children programs in jurisdictions across the province.
McWilliams said the program makes a difference.
“I feel like overall, we change the trajectory of children’s outcomes,” she said.
