Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services

Mission Statement

The mission of the Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services is to provide community health nursing services by synthesizing nursing practice and public health practices, which focus on health promotion, disease prevention, early detection and treatment of health problems and the restoration of health of individuals, families and communities.

Philosophy

The Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services (BFHNS), under the auspices of the Division of Public Health, Department of Public Health and Social Services believes in providing individual, family, and community health by implementing the preventative approach to health through the three levels of prevention:

Primary – prevention of problems before they occur
Secondary – early detection and intervention
Tertiary – correction and prevention of deterioration of a disease state

The BFHNS assists and empower individuals, families, and communities to take ownership and responsibility of their health care to achieve their highest level of health status. Henceforth, the maintenance of optimal health status of all individuals, including people with disabilities, families, and communities throughout the island of Guam are reinforced through collaboration with multidisciplinary teams in providing comprehensive community health services.

Target Population

The target population of the BFHNS consists of uninsured and medically underserved populations. Specific groups within the target population include children 0 – 8 years old (including children with special health care needs); adolescents; women of childbearing age with health risk factors; pregnant women including adolescents; the elderly (55 years and over); individuals living in substandard housing units; public health patients (i.e., patients with communicable, infectious and sexually transmitted diseases).

Services provided by Central Region Health Clinic

• Provides clinical nursing services at the Central Region Health Clinic, in Mangilao, dealing with the different programs in DPHSS (Clinic hours are Monday to Friday, 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm, except weekends and holidays). Appointments can be made at the Medical Records Office.
• Provides preventable nursing services. Maternal and Child Health (MCH), Family Planning (FP), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and Communicable Diseases clinics are open to clients by appointments.
• Provides health education and counseling services on child’s health, women’s health, family planning, communicable and chronic diseases, smoking cessation and other pertinent health information. In addition, they provide Early Prenatal Counseling and Breastfeeding Classes to prenatal clients and their partners.
• Provides capped Immunization Clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8am to 10am and 1pm to 3pm for children zero – 18 years old and senior citizens 55 years and older for required immunizations.
• Provides free pregnancy testing on Mondays and Wednesday, 8am to 10am, for the first ten women. Followed by consultation with a service provider or social worker for any referral of services as needed.
• Provide services to Children with Special Health Care Needs including but not limited to the Shriner’s Bi-Annual Orthopedic Clinic for children zero – 21 years old who have been diagnosed with an orthopedic condition, Genetics Clinic for clients and their families in comprehending their specific diseases and/or risks within the context of their own psychosocial and ethno-cultural backgrounds. Families seeking appointment for these specialty clinics can call the Children with Special Health Care Needs Social Worker and they will assist with making the appointment.

Home Visiting Services

The MCH clients that access the Central Public HEalth clinic and are MCH clients within the clinics are visited by the BFHNS Nursing staff on preventative Health issues, Newborn/Postpartum referrals, and any priority visits with the TB or STD programs. The District Nurses provide home visits, screenings, and immunizations to their clients.

Immunization Outreaches

The BFHNS staff provide monthy village or community-base Immunization outreaches to the community of Guam. They also provide family Planning counseling and prenatal care education during these immunization outreaches. Other DPHSS programs are also involved with thses outreaches and other government agencies also. Provide nursing services during monthly WIC Immunization Outreaches, every first Friday of the month for WIC clients at the Tiyan Office.