About Us

For more than thirty years Healthy Start Coalition of Southwest Florida has led the maternal and child health movement to save the lives of babies and moms in our community of Lee, Collier, Hendry, and Glades counties. As a nonprofit, we partner with public and private organizations, and service providers to ensure babies get the medical and community support they need to thrive from the start. Every year, over 20,000 pregnant women and babies benefit from our services… and we are just getting started.

Our mission:

Our mission is to support a system of care that improves the health and well-being of pregnant women and families by ensuring they can access the care, services, and resources they need to enable them to thrive.

Our Responsibility

  • Ensure access to prenatal and infant medical care and services
  • Educate and monitor the community about pregnancy and birth outcomes
  • Advocate & build partnerships to fill service gaps
  • Allocate service funds in the community and provide quality assurance over the services

Annual Report

Every year we review the impact our programs and partners have had on our community, formalizing these victories in an Annual Report. Every year we work to ensure women and babies have access to medical care, receive education, and get early intervention and community resources from evidence-based screenings.

Needs Assessment

Every five years we conduct a thorough needs assessment of our four-county region and use the findings to help us and our community better educate and advocate for maternal and child health in our region.

Service Delivery Plan

Using the comprehensive Needs Assessment, we develop the Healthy Start’s Service Delivery Plan to provide a direction for services, education and advocacy every five years.

Our Volunteer Executive Board

Pamela Blackwell
President, First Horizon
Juan M. Henriquez
Treasurer, First Citizens Bank
Stephen Eller
Vice President, Raymond James Financial Services
Judith Yevick
Secretary, Retired Non-Profit Executive
Debbie McMarthy, MSN, ARNP
Forbes Family Care Center
Indira Maharaj
First Horizon
Lina Diaz-Conde, MSW
Golisano Children’s Hospital
Sylvia Delgado, MSW
Family Health Centers
Shiminka Greenidge, RN, MBA
Health Park Medical Center
Dr. Cherrie Morris, MD
Cape Coral Hospital
Michelle Trunkett, Esq.
Florida Rural Legal Aid

Meetings and Calls

Third Thursday of Every Month Time
Healthy Start Coalition of Southwest Florida Board Meeting
Time:

3:00pm-5:00pm

Location:

First Horizon Bank 6651 Orion Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33912

In May, the meeting will be held on May 29th 3:00pm-5:00pm at First Horizon Bank, 6651 Orion Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33912

We will resume our normal schedule on June 19, 2025

Second Tuesday of Every Month
Home Visitor Advisory Committee Meeting
Time:

10:00am-12:00pm

Location:

Coalition office 1921 Jefferson Ave. Fort Myers, FL 33901

Want to become a volunteer?