Holy Family Healthcare joins forces with Caring Network to help young mothers

e Van Domelen Center located at 1441 S. Westnedge in Kalamazoo is like a nesting doll. It appears as a single structure but inside the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Kalamazoo operates several service organizations. Chief among them is Caring Network, which offers a wide range of services for young pregnant women and their children.

Last November, Caring Network teamed up with Holy Family Healthcare to expand those services. Now young mothers and their children can see a doctor on site.

“It seemed like a natural partnership,” CCDOK President Tim Lieser said, explaining both organizations use Catholic social teaching to provide whole-person care, oen free of charge.

Caring Network has been helping young mothers for decades, offering health and parenting classes, as well as one-on-one parenting mentors. ey provide and help find housing for young mothers. ere are therapists and caseworkers, a 24-hour “Warm Line” for emotional support, a kitchen and laundry for client use, the Caring Closet, which provides free clothing and supplies.

When it came to medical services, however, all Caring Network could do was refer out to others.

"In the past, the prenatal health and well-being were truly from a psycho-educational approach because we did not have medical staff on board,” Lieser said. “Now, with Holy Family Healthcare, we have a presence in the building available not only to those who utilize the facility but to the whole community at large.”

Holy Family Healthcare started in 2012 with a group of physicians looking to return dignity to healthcare. Using the social teaching of the Catholic Church, their mission is to care for a patient’s body, mind, and soul. HFH has a medical office in Hartford, Michigan, at which 6,000 clients sought care last year. eir food pantry is the largest in Van Buren county, serving more than 50,000 meals last year.

“We don’t turn anyone away for care,” HFH President Deacon Don Bouchard, DO, said. “If they have a need, we address the need. Whether you have insurance or not, you are treated the same way. Nobody makes a ton of money but we go home feeling good.”

HFH has a mobile office to facilitate care outside of Hartford. One organization they frequently help is CCDOK. Now, with the Caring Network partnership, they have a permanent CCDOK presence.

“It is a natural marriage for what Holy Family Healthcare does,” Dcn. Bouchard said.“We’re not adding a ‘medical piece’ to Caring Network; we are bringing a service to the community. It’s the works of mercy.”

Medical services are offered Tuesday aernoons, but they are looking to add ursdays. HFH is in the process of hiring a certified nurse midwife, which will enable Caring Network to offer even more women services. A one-stop resource is a gi to these mothers, many of whom struggle just to get to the Van Domelen Center.

“We know if can erase some of those barriers we are increasing our clients’ perception of why they would want to engage,” Lieser said. “ey aren’t getting a handout, they are making life choices for themselves.” Both Dcn. Bouchard and Lieser believe breaking generational poverty begins with dignity.

“Our goal is to engage them through patience, listening, and treating them with dignity in hopes they open the door from getting a fish to learning how to fish,” Lieser said. HFH and Caring Network welcome donations of time, treasure, and talent. Consult their websites at http://ccdok.org or www.holyfamilyhealthcare.org for more information.

Pictured: Dr. Don Bouchard, Holy Family Healthcare and Deacon, St. Augustine Cathedral Parish, stands with Tim Lieser, President, Catholic Charities Diocese of Kalamazoo, outside Caring Network’s William and Katherine Van Domelon Center in Kalamazoo.