Elisa Cartwright
Welcome Baby Visit Coordinator & Family Support Worker, New Parent Services & Families First
written by Julie Ryan, Supervisor and Karen Enns, Program ManagerWe are very happy to present to you our very own Elisa Cartwright, Employee of the Month for January! Elisa is the “Welcome Baby Visit” Coordinator for our three-county Healthy Start program, and she is also a home visitor in both Wasco and Hood River counties.
Elisa has a wonderful attitude of “can do” that she has exhibited throughout her employment with NDI. She has been asked to take on new and challenging jobs and to be flexible about both location and duties. She works particularly hard to build and improve connections with community partners.
When we were asked to increase the number of Welcome Baby Visits in Hood River County, Elisa started attending the evening childbirth classes at Providence. Elisa has also motivated community partners to increase referrals by facilitating a Dutch Brothers coffee dollars donation, offering coffee rewards to partners for each referral. Elisa hand delivers those coupons each month.
Elisa has recently felt a particular passion for teen mothers in both The Dalles and Hood River communities and has made contact with school and health department officials to see how New Parent Services and Families First can fill in the gaps. We know it is an effort that will make a huge impact on both communities. This kind of creative initiative is a wonderful attribute of hers.
If driving back and forth and between and all over two counties to “get the job done” isn’t enough, Elisa just took on being part of the Safety Committee to help ensure that at NDI we have the safest working environments possible.
Lastly, one of Elisa’s greatest contributions to NDI is her wonderful sense of humor that lights up any difficult, awkward or already fun situation! She keeps us all in the right frame of mind: “Everything is going to be fine.”
Congratulations, Elisa!
Elisa wrote this poem to express her hopes and experience, helping families learn new parenting skills:
The Gift
by Elisa Cartwright
A fragile babe is born today
Hopeful parents light the way.
Building skills with education and praise
Helping families through the maze.
I watch amazed as strong families appear
And to think all I did was support and cheer.
What a precious gift for me to show
It’s love that makes their children grow.