In a wave of innovation and renewed focus on women’s health, two distinct but complementary initiatives are making headlines across the United States this fall. In Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, a new healthcare practice is rewriting the script for how mothers and busy women access medical care, while in Connecticut, hospitals are rolling out an eye-catching program to protect new moms from life-threatening postpartum complications. Together, these efforts signal a broader shift in how the healthcare system acknowledges and addresses the unique needs of women—especially mothers—at a time when juggling family, work, and self-care has never felt more overwhelming.
At the heart of Santa Rosa Beach’s healthcare transformation is The Mom NP, a clinic founded by board-certified nurse practitioner Lisa O’Neill. O’Neill, a Florida Panhandle native with 13 years of healthcare experience, knows firsthand the struggle of balancing motherhood and personal health. “I know firsthand how hard it can be to prioritize your own health while juggling the endless responsibilities of motherhood, work, and everything in between,” O’Neill told Get The Coast. Her clinic is built upon a Direct Primary Care (DPC) model that eliminates insurance hassles, offering women direct access to care through both telehealth and in-person appointments. Services range from hormone management and mental health support to urgent same-day or next-day primary care visits—features that are often out of reach for women navigating traditional healthcare systems.
The statistics speak volumes: research shows that 40.6% of female patients have left medical appointments unfinished because of childcare needs, making such requirements a leading barrier to care for women in safety-net settings. O’Neill’s approach aims to smash those barriers. “We’re not just a practice — we’re a community of women who get it,” she said. “As a mom myself, I understand the challenges you face because I’ve been there too. That’s why I’m committed to providing the compassionate, one-on-one care that so many moms are missing.”
Over the past six months, The Mom NP has expanded into a larger facility, hiring a dedicated nurse and phlebotomist, and forging partnerships with local organizations like Growing Love Ultrasound Studio and 30A Lactation. The clinic’s “Village of Support” model also includes two licensed mental health therapists and pelvic floor specialists, creating a holistic network for women’s health. This collaborative approach is designed to address both body and mind, recognizing that motherhood’s challenges are as much emotional as they are physical.
O’Neill’s credentials are impressive: she holds a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University, and has completed advanced training in bioidentical hormone replacement from the BHRT Training Academy. She maintains active membership in The Menopause Society to ensure her expertise stays current. The clinic’s weight management and hormone programs are tailored for the realities of busy family life, emphasizing sustainability and personalization over quick fixes.
But it’s not just about individual care. The Mom NP has rolled out small business membership plans that make healthcare more accessible for local employers and their teams. With a minimum of five to eight employees, businesses can secure discounted rates—$10 off core care and $16 off per employee on concierge services—with even larger discounts for groups of 10 to 15. Recent legislation sweetens the deal, offering tax breaks for businesses that provide direct primary care to employees. “Employers like it because it keeps their employees healthy and it gives them an option and employees like it because they can feel better and they always have somebody there to call if they need to,” O’Neill explained. “So I think it’s a win-win for any business that comes on with their employees.”
Patients can begin their journey with a Path Forward Consultation for $79—a 30-minute session that covers symptoms, health history, personal goals, and recommendations for tailored programs, with the fee applied toward any program if enrollment happens within two weeks. O’Neill’s philosophy is simple but powerful: healthcare should adapt to families, not the other way around. “Whether it’s lending a listening ear, finding the root cause of an issue, or creating a care plan tailored just for you, my approach is always focused on you,” she said. “I love empowering women to take charge of their health while juggling their many roles, and my goal is to help you feel seen, heard, and cared for.”
Meanwhile, more than a thousand miles away in Connecticut, hospitals are taking a different but equally creative approach to maternal health. On September 30, 2025, facilities across the state began distributing Urgent Maternal Warning Signs Bracelets to new mothers before they leave the hospital. These bright orange bands, emblazoned with “I Gave Birth,” serve as a visual cue to healthcare professionals and EMTs that the wearer is newly postpartum—a critical distinction, given that more than half of pregnancy-related deaths occur after birth, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The 12 weeks following childbirth are a time of heightened risk for complications such as blood clots, eclampsia, infection, and perinatal depression. The bracelets, accompanied by a detailed handout, remind both patients and providers to be vigilant. “Maternal mortality and morbidity can affect anyone,” said Jennifer Dowe, director of perinatal specialty programs at Hartford Hospital, in comments reported by WTNH. “It is our job to help.”
But the initiative is more than just a bracelet—it’s a statewide campaign of training and advocacy. Kelley Reddington, a perinatal safety nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, described the program’s impact: “We’ve trained EMS, we’ve trained community providers, and most importantly, we’ve trained new moms to advocate for themselves, which is huge.” The hope is that these bracelets will prompt conversations and quick action if a new mother arrives in an emergency department, even if she’s too overwhelmed to mention her recent delivery. “It really is supposed to be a visual reminder,” Dowe said. “Someone who is sick, or in crisis, going to the emergency department, might not disclose that they recently had a baby because they are thinking about their splitting headache or whatever is not making them feel well.”
Connecticut is at the forefront of this relatively new initiative, joining a handful of states that are providing a maternal health safety net for women. “Everyone is baby, baby, baby,” Reddington reflected. “We really want to focus on mom, too. If we move the needle just a little bit in Connecticut, then we’ve really made a huge difference.”
Both the Santa Rosa Beach clinic and the Connecticut bracelet initiative share a common thread: a commitment to seeing and supporting mothers as individuals with complex health needs, not just as caretakers or vessels for new life. They offer practical solutions to real-world problems—be it the logistical nightmare of scheduling appointments around childcare, or the life-or-death urgency of recognizing postpartum warning signs. The message is clear: women’s health, especially maternal health, is moving to the center of the conversation, and these programs are leading the way.
As these efforts expand, women in Florida, Connecticut, and beyond may finally find themselves in a healthcare system that not only sees but truly serves them—meeting them where they are, and helping them thrive in every role they play.
