Holy Family Services Birth Center

Staffed exclusively by volunteers, Holy Family Services Birth Center in Weslaco, Texas, exemplifies the spirit of the 2004 NHSC Awards of Excellence. Proyecto Alumbrar (or “Project Illuminate”), Holy Family’s campaign to increase the number of child-bearing women receiving prenatal care in Hidalgo County, Texas—where one-third of the 15,000 births annually take place with little or no prenatal care—has been an unqualified success.

The campaign is the brainchild of Diana Caplan, an NHSC Scholar working at Holy Family, who secured funding and helped complete the project for a fraction of what it would have cost at clinics with paid employees. Proyecto Alumbrar’s outreach program consisted of videos, educational sessions at clinics and high schools, information booths at flea markets, stories placed in various media outlets, and presentations at regional and national conferences.

The 2004 NHSC Awards of Excellence judges were especially impressed with the partnerships Holy Family forged with 15 different community agencies, including the University of Pan American Border Health Office, Mexican American National Association of Women, and Migrant Health Promotions. Judges were also impressed with the center’s health education and preventive care programs, as well as its staff team building and enrichment programs.

The end result? The Texas Department of Health reported an almost 9 percent decrease in the number of women giving birth without adequate prenatal care since the campaign commenced.

“It is very, very nice to be recognized by the National Health Service Corps,” says Caplan. “Often times we feel like we work in isolation—burning the candle at both ends—and at the end of a project, it is rewarding and important to take a breath and be recognized.”