Keynote: Amplify by Integration: Addressing Social Determinants of Health with Doula Services in a Healthy Start Program

Mary E. Schultheis is the Founder, President, and CEO of Crescent City Family Services, Inc. (CCFS). She has worked for more than two decades in the field of maternal and child health. Her efforts have led to programs that respond to community needs reflected in high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity concerns, especially high-risk individuals and families in Jefferson Parish and across the State of Louisiana. She is a visionary, out on a mission ‘Where Family Comes First’ as the organization's motto says. Recently, she has been Chair of the National WIC Association Conference and a member of the planning committee for the ROSE Conference and the National Healthy Start Association. She has presented a webinar on “How to Successfully Recruit 300 Pregnant Moms.” Along with CCFS staff, she participated in the 2022 Tri-Regional Maternal Health Conference in Dallas, TX. In February 2022, Mrs. Schultheis was recognized for her efforts in the Healthy Start newsletter. She continues to augment the vision and model the leadership necessary to address inequities in maternal child health. In her words, “It is an honor to be serving a community so impacted by Hurricane Katrina and so badly in need of what we offer. It is not about being the CEO of an organization. It’s always been about the opportunity to serve.” In the last three years, apart from continuing uninterrupted onsite WIC and Healthy Start curbside services during COVID-19, she started a food pantry that continues to address food insecurity concerns in Jefferson Parish.

She believes in working together and sharing knowledge support to achieve the collective goal of improving women’s health, strengthening family health and wellness, and promoting system change. She has provided mentorship support to several students from Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Louisiana State University, Xavier University, and even organizations like Greater Harlem Healthy Start. She adds, “Taking small steps can have substantial impacts. It will not only build stronger community ties but a coalition that would benefit each other and bring about a long-term sustainable change.”

Mary and her team were recipients of the DONA International 2023 Annie Kennedy Award in recognition of their work in developing and implementing a community doula program in which they provided free doula services by DONA-certified (and those pursuing certification) to seventy-two families.