Member Profile: Prenatal Coordinator | Bronx

This year, the IFH Healthcorps team has 17 full time members! Every month we will be profiling one or two so you can get a chance to meet our crew and learn more about their work!

This month: Meet Melissa!


At our Teambuilding Day at Camp Ramapo!

Name: Melissa L.

Position: Bronx Pre-natal Coordinator

Brief bio:
I love running, laughing, New York City, outdoor activities, warm clean laundry, traveling, matinees, DANCING and childbirth.

What is your hometown? Corona, CA

What is the best part about living in NYC? What is your favorite place in the city?
I really love places where I can get a great view of Manhattan. The piers of the Dumbo and Williamsburg in Brooklyn are fantastic. I also, super like random coffee shops around the city (ie. The Flying Saucer in Brooklyn, and ‘snice in the West Village)

Where do you work and what kind of tasks do you do each day?
I work in the south Bronx coordinating the prenatal care of patients and Centering Pregnancy groups for three sites. I try to be at all the prenatal visits to do health education before or after our moms meet with the provider. I also coordinate their care by managing appointments both in and out of our facility. Lastly, I am the liaison to our delivering hospitals.

What is your favorite part of the job?
I am able to provide doula service to women in our health center who lack support from another woman. As a doula I provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth. Childbirth is most often an incredibly momentous time in a women's life, and sharing the experience with another individual is truly rewarding.

What is the most difficult part of what you do?
As a Doula I accompany women to their birth at different hospitals. On a couple of instances, I have witnessed the delivery of poor care. It is heartbreaking to witness disrespectful care especially in a childbirth setting. Also, many of the women I provide services to have incredibly difficult economic and social obstacles that are many times hard to cope with.

Why do you enjoy being a healthcorps member?
I absolutely love being surrounded by a group of incredibly intelligent open-minded individuals who are continuously challenging me.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I am currently applying to medical school. I hope to be a phenomenal family doctor who provides care to under-served populations, more specifically migrant farm workers.