ANFPP South in Goodna was motivated to go that extra mile when COVID-19 surfaced, to ensure the team stayed connected with their mums, bubs, families, community and each other. Here is their story, told by Nurse Home Visitor, Amy Gallienne and Administration Assistant Fumiko Nelio. 

• Sanitisation packs – We came up with the idea of providing our mums with what we called ‘sanitisation packs’. These packs included hand gel, a small pack of baby wipes, a mask and an information sheet on how to effectively wash your hands. This was our way of educating our mums how to keep themselves and their family safe and to use effective hand hygiene.
• Mindfulness Pack – This pack was designed to help our mums remain grounded and as calm as possible. Our mums loved receiving these packs which included mindfulness pictures designed for colouring-in and coloured pencils. Colouring-in has been shown to relax the fear centre of your brain, the amygdala. The aim was to give ours minds the space to have some rest during the intensity of COVID-19.
• Food Hampers – We wanted to ensure our families were safe and to help them to limit exposure to the virus. There also had to be thought put into their delivery, to ensure our team members were not put at risk. The food hampers were packed with items that were balanced with fresh produce, bread and milk, with the driving force being to support healthy eating, and they included what was apparently the most valuable resource on the planet at that time – toilet paper. This initiative was our way of not only protecting our families but also to encourage them to remain engaged as they could then sense we genuinely cared and had their best interests at the forefront of our program.
• Facebook Live Streaming – Our first live stream occurred on Tuesday 7th April, 2020. We wanted to provide some humour and joy to our mums through these sessions with the main goal to help them stay connected. These sessions alternated between cooking and arts/crafts. The cooking live stream was centred around a health focus, easy to find ingredients and uncomplicated recipes. The arts and crafts were more about getting the mums to take time out for themselves, tapping into their creativity, and to use items that were organic and recyclable. The live streams occurred over several locations but mainly at the office. We were really encouraged by the support of both current and past clients as well as our work colleagues.
• Home Visits – This was a challenge and had to be given careful consideration. Some staff were happy to continue home visiting with social distancing, providing the client was well and other staff continued via Microsoft Teams, Skype, phone calls and visits in the driveway and backyard. Some of the clients preferred using technology while others looked forward to face-to-face contact. During this time, staff continued to check in with clients over the phone more regularly than they would have normally.