Okaloosa Healthy Start Program

The Healthy Start Coalition of Okaloosa and Walton Counties is a program dedicated to the health and wellbeing of local pregnant women, infants, fathers, and their families. Healthy Start serves ALL of Florida’s moms, babies, and families! Through education and support programs, nutritional counseling, smoking cessation, and so much more, Healthy Start helps provide a crucial safety net for Florida’s moms, babies, and families!

What Healthy Start Offers:

Free Community-wide Baby Shower

Car seat safety and Safe sleep Classes

Home Visiting Services

Healthy Start Home Visiting Services are based on risk factors, not income and are available to pregnant women and mothers or care givers with children under the age of three. A Healthy Start Screening, which is a simple set of questions, determines if a woman and/or her baby could benefit from Home Visiting Services.

A Healthy Start Worker is like your personal pregnancy consultant and can help you arrange a variety of services including:

• Assistance in finding a doctor
• Childbirth education
• Nutrition education
• Breastfeeding education and support
• Help to quit smoking
• Baby care instructions
• Parenting assistance
• Family planning
• Emotional support
• Connections to other community resources

Doula Services

Healthy Start’s FREE Healthy Start Doula program will primarily be for women entering their third trimester of pregnancy, preferably those connected with a home-visiting service. If you are interested in eligibility requirements and connecting with a doula for your pregnancy, please contact our Doula Coordinator, Drisana Coons, at 850-833-3999 Opt. 2 or fill out this form: Program Referral Form

Connect Program

• Pregnancy education and support
• Childbirth education
• Newborn care instruction
• Breastfeeding education and support
• Parenting education and support
• Counseling services
• Help to quit smoking
• Nutritional education
• School readiness
• Child development education and support
• Family planning education
• Car seat safety
• Infant safety
• Home visiting programs
• Other community resources

How to Obtain Healthy Start Services:

To obtain Healthy Start Services, be sure to say YES when offered a Florida Universal Prenatal Screen or Infant Questionnaire:

• At your Prenatal Appointment in your OB/GYN Office
• At Labor and Delivery when your baby is born
• Or you can call your Local Connect Representative at 850-833-9284 ex. 1 or 9. Click here for more information on the Connect Program or fill out the form: Program Referral Form