The Assist, Connect, and Encourage “ACE” Program is a free, voluntary program that supports pregnant and up to 2 years postpartum individuals with current or prior substance use. ACE is one of the original Drug Free Moms and Babies Project sites developed and supported by the WV Perinatal Partnership.
The ACE Program goes beyond above and beyond regular prenatal and postpartum care by offering individualized services and care coordination to help meet the needs of our participants. Some of the services offered include:
The ACE team is made up by a project coordinator and peer recovery support specialist / community health worker. Our compassionate team meet participants where they are, complete a needs assessment, refer to resources or treatment they need, and support them throughout their perinatal journey. You can reach out to the ACE Team at their office number: (304) 293-1706 or go to our Facebook page.
Kelly is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner who helps support the program participants, as well as Candy and Shannon! She is a buprenorphine prescriber and works with the WVU Comprehensive Opioid Addiction Treatment (COAT) Program. She has several groups for pregnant, postpartum, and parenting individuals. She is able to assist the ACE team in ensuring our participants navigate care as easily as possible by making sure they have orders they may need for upcoming visits, and can help make referrals as needed. She is knowledgeable about treatment, as well as pregnancy and postpartum concerns, and can often help provide education and reassurance to participants. Participants are not required to get treatment in the COAT Program, but when treatment with Buprenorphine products is desired, Kelly is able to offer a seamless start into treatment.
Shannon has a Bachelor’s in Child Development and Family Studies, and has previously worked as a Developmental Specialist for WV Birth to Three, Early Head Start as a Prenatal Child and Family Specialist, and other community child education systems. She has experience talking to individuals about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, as well as infant, toddler, and Pre-k aged care and education and can assist with questions, activities, or just have an open ear for listening. She knows how important it can be for parents and families to get connected with meaningful resources for the individual and/or the family unit. She helps identify these resources and works with the enrolled individual to meet the family where they are in their journey!
ACE Work Number: (304) 216-3019
Candy has 14 years of personal recovery experience. She is passionate about supporting pregnant and postpartum people and combating stigma. Candy has completed doula training in a variety of areas (infant loss, pregnancy, labor/birth, postpartum) and is a lactation champion . She is uniquely able to combine all of her experiences to support and encourage our clients through whatever they are experiencing for a healthy wellbeing. She is well connected in the recovery community and is able to help identify resources. Her lived in experience is something our participants – she understands what they may be going through and is able to meet them where they are.
ACE Work Number: (304) 282-4223
Yes! We did a review of our program participants from 2018 – 2019. We compared individuals with substance use who participated in the program compared to those who had some kind of substance use but did not participate. ACE participants had lower risk of preterm birth and gave birth to infants with higher birth weights! We continue to do data collection with the WV Perinatal Partnership to evaluate program effectiveness.
You can check out our published paper here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10339237/pdf/main.pdf
There are several ways to get enrolled with ACE Program. At an OB or Postpartum Visit, any WVU OB provider or nurse can place an order within our electronic medical record.
You can refer yourself to the program easily! People interested in enrolling can call our office number (304) 293-1706, or text/call any ACE team member to get started with us.
We also accept referrals from the community! We can reach out to anyone that you refer to us. You can call our office number (304) 293-1706 or contact our Project Coordinator (304) 216-3019. We would just need the individuals name and a good contact number for the individual you are referring.
The ACE Program was lucky enough to get grant funding from WV Community Voices to establish a Mom & Baby Pantry. Our pantry is stocked with a variety of new and gently used items to help meet the needs of our participants. Our program hosts an annual diaper and wipe drive that allows us to keep our pantry stocked at all times with diapers ranging from Newborn to Size 4. To support our participants, we have supplies ranging from nursing pads, pumps, storage bags, pads, and menstrual cups, self-care items, and maternity clothing.. We have infant safety supplies, feeding supplies, infant care items, mittens and hats. The pantry also holds a variety of new and gently used newborn clothes. Through generous donation of community members (and prior participants!) we can often help with getting pack n’ plays, bassinets, bouncers, and other infant items. Our team works with participants to identify what they need and assist them to get the item!
Our team tries to help take some of the stress away from preparing for a new baby while focusing on personal recovery. Think of us like a personal assistant! We offer reminders for appointments and can assist with setting goal steps. When enrolling either Candy or Shannon will complete a needs assessment to help identify resources that the individual may need or could be missing. If there is a chance Child Protective Services may need to be notified at delivery (if the person is on medications for substance use treatment, like Buprenorphine or Methadone, if they are still actively using or early in their recovery) we offer emotional support, and can provide a letter of program participation. This letter helps to show that the participant is reaching out for support and using resources.
Our team has: assisted someone in overcome a fear of riding the bus, linked someone to transportation so they can get to visits, helped someone fill out divorce papers, met someone in the emergency room so they could get cleared for detoxification, talked participants through emotional crisis, supported people through labor so they didn’t give birth alone, met participants who were unhoused to provide necessary supplies, helped get people from abusive environments and into safe shelters, helped someone switch from one treatment provider to another when they felt their needs weren’t being met, worked with clinic staff to coordinate appointments, and much more.
Ultimately, our team LOVES what we do, and we love being an assistant in making life a little easier for our participants!
The ACE Program has been made possible by grant funding and support from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Behavioral Health, Bureau for Public Health, Office of Maternal, Child, and Family Health, and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Historically, it has operated from grant opportunities. Our team is working with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through their Maternal Opioid Misuse Model in partnership with WV Medicaid and Marshall Health to make these services directly billable and reimbursable to WV Medicaid. This will help to make the program sustainable and will have no direct cost to participants.
If you would like to support our Baby Pantry, you can visit our ongoing Amazon Registry.