Childress Nursing Services Joins the Washington State Blue Band Initiative: Bringing Clinical-Level Preeclampsia Protection Into the Home
- CNS
- Apr 7
- 6 min read
At Childress Nursing Services, we have always known that the most important moments in maternal health do not happen inside a clinic or hospital. They happen at 2 a.m. when a headache will not go away. They happen three days after discharge when swelling is worsening and there is no clinical presence nearby to notice. They happen in the quiet spaces between appointments, where danger can quietly grow and where too many preventable tragedies have occurred.
That is why Childress Nursing Services is proud to announce our official participation in the Washington State Blue Band Initiative, a Department of Health program dedicated to protecting pregnant and postpartum patients from preeclampsia, one of the leading preventable causes of maternal death in the United States.
For Childress Nursing, this is not a new direction. It is a formal recognition of what our CNS HELPS Family Home Nurses have been doing every day: delivering clinical-level skilled nursing care directly inside the homes of the families we serve, staying present across the full perinatal journey, and ensuring that no patient falls through the gaps that too often open after hospital discharge.
What is the Washington State Blue Band Initiative?
The Washington State Blue Band Initiative, established by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), was created to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality connected to preeclampsia and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a progressive, multi-system condition characterized by high blood pressure and signs of organ injury. It can affect any pregnancy, can emerge or worsen at any point during or after delivery, and can escalate rapidly even in patients who appeared stable just hours before. Research estimates it affects as many as 1 in 12 pregnancies.
The initiative works through a powerful yet simple tool: a blue wristband, issued to patients identified as higher-risk for hypertensive disorders. That band travels with the patient and communicates their clinical risk status to any provider they encounter, whether in an emergency room, urgent care, or a routine follow-up visit. It speaks on their behalf when they may not be able to speak for themselves.
By joining this initiative, Childress Nursing Services ensures that a patient’s hypertensive risk does not disappear from their care record the moment they walk through their front door. Our CNS HELPS Family Home Nurses are trained to recognize its significance, incorporate it into each care plan, and act on it at every visit.
CNS HELPS: skilled home nursing that goes where the risk goes
At the center of Childress Nursing’s participation is our CNS HELPS program: Home Evaluation and Learning Prenatal and Postpartum Services. CNS HELPS is a nurse-led, skilled home nursing program positioned between the clinical support of your OB/GYN or midwife’s office and a non-medical doula. Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nurses extend your pregnancy provider’s care directly into your home, between your clinic appointments.
The goal of CNS HELPS is early prevention and detection while optimizing pregnancy outcomes and postpartum recovery. Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nurses work alongside your care team, reinforcing your provider’s instructions and monitoring you where you actually live.
What is included at every CNS HELPS visit?
Vital signs monitoring, including blood pressure assessment at every visit
Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring during pregnancy visits
Childbirth and postpartum education and preparation, tailored to each stage
Point-of-care health screening labs with same-visit results
Comprehensive health nurse assessments aligned with your OB or midwife’s care plan
Personalized nutrition and lactation support
Medication administration for specifically ordered home injectables, wound care, and gestational hypertension or diabetes home monitoring programs, as applicable
Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nurses also provide our CNS Perinatal Tracker workbooks, CradleSafe home safety evaluations, and our Baby Gets Moving fitness and nutrition support program, because preparing for and recovering from birth is a whole-body, whole-home experience.
The CNS HELPS program lineup
CNS NEST (Prenatal)
Structured prenatal home nursing from 7 weeks of pregnancy through delivery: health assessments, FHR monitoring, point-of-care labs, childbirth education, and delivery preparation. Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nurses deliver care that reinforces what your OB or midwife has already established, keeping you closely monitored and confidently prepared.
CNS HATCH (Postpartum)
Home-based postpartum skilled nursing beginning your first day home, available within 6 months of delivery. CNS HATCH covers physical recovery, infant checks, point-of-care lab monitoring, and emotional support during one of the most transformative periods of a family’s life. For patients identified as high-risk for postpartum hypertension, CNS HATCH provides the clinical watchfulness this window demands.
CNS CARES (Non-birthing parents)
Specially designed for families expanding through surrogacy or adoption, CNS CARES adapts the core components of NEST and HATCH to meet the unique needs of non-biological parents, including CNS DaddyCare health assessments for all types of parents.
Who qualifies for CNS HELPS?
Coverage: The majority of Childress Nursing’s CNS HELPS clients are covered by commercial insurance or Washington Apple Health (Medicaid). There are no income limit requirements to participate.
Prenatal (CNS NEST): At least 7 weeks pregnant and under the care of an OB, nurse midwife, or advanced care provider. Not yet connected to a provider? Childress Nursing can help facilitate that connection.
Postpartum (CNS HATCH): Enrollment must begin within 6 months of delivery.
Service area: Greater Seattle metro Snohomish, Pierce, and King county including Seattle, Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Newcastle, Mercer Island, and Bothell. Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nurses come to you.
In Quiana’s words
"At Childress Nursing Services, our work has never been about the single visit. It has always been about the full journey. As a member of Washington’s Maternal Mortality Review Panel, I see firsthand that gestational hypertension and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy remain among the leading preventable causes of maternal death in our state. Joining the Washington State Blue Band Initiative is a natural extension of what Childress Nursing has always been: a community-rooted, nurse-led organization committed to ensuring every patient is seen, monitored, and supported in the place where risk is most likely to go undetected, which is their own home. Our CNS HELPS Family Home Nurses were already doing this work. We are proud to formalize that commitment today as part of the statewide safety effort our patients have always deserved."
Quiana Daniels, RN | Founder and Healthcare Administrator, Childress Nursing Services | Member, Washington State Maternal Mortality Review Panel
Childress Nursing Services’ community roots and clinical standing
Childress Nursing’s roots are strong as seasoned government contractors with active county and state contracts, and as a recognized state contractor supporting maternal health equity in Washington State.
Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nursing team intentionally reflects the communities we serve: communities that face disproportionate rates of maternal mortality and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and for whom culturally informed, in-home clinical care is not a luxury. It is a necessity Childress Nursing has always been built to provide.
Washington State licensed, OMWBE certified
Past and active state and county government contracts: DOH, King County Metro Wellness, Public Health Seattle and King County (PHSKC)
Recognized grant recipient, maternal health equity
200+ in-network insurance plans, including Apple Health
Culturally-conscious and diverse Family Home Nursing team
For healthcare providers: refer your patients to CNS HELPS
Childress Nursing Services is a trusted referral partner for OBs, nurse midwives, and perinatal care providers across Washington State. CNS HELPS is designed to extend your clinic’s care into the home environment, providing the between-visit monitoring and education that reduces preventable ER visits and supports better perinatal outcomes.
Submit a CNS HELPS referral online and Childress Nursing’s office will reach out to the patient within 48 hours. Referred patients are prioritized.
Submit a provider referral at childressnursing.com/providers
Ready to learn more about CNS HELPS?
Skilled home nursing across pregnancy and postpartum / after birth delivery recovery, covered by 200+ insurance plans and Apple Health, with no income limit - partnering with your WA State Blue Band Initiative. Childress Nursing’s Family Home Nurses come to you, whether you are in King County or the Greater Seattle metro area.
Explore CNS HELPS: childressnursing.com/cnshelps
Check your insurance: childressnursing.com/insurance
Refer a patient: childressnursing.com/providers
Still at the preconception phase? Then check out our insurance-covered Home Fertility Nurse injections and support services at Fertility Injections
Learn more about the Washington State Blue Band Initiative at doh.wa.gov
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