Jefferson City native Amber Vanderfeltz chose nursing as a career so she could follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, who was a nurse for more than 50 years.
Vanderfeltz started working at the Cole County Health Department in October in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. While her primary job is to help new mothers and their children, she is also involved with the department's COVID-19 efforts.
As maternal child health coordinator, Vanderfeltz will provide education on a variety of topics. They are currently focused on safe sleep.
"We will focus on having babies sleeping on their backs," Vanderfeltz said. "We also want to stress to the moms that they should not co-sleep with their baby because a lot of moms don't understand why you shouldn't do that."
Vanderfeltz said the best measure to prevent sudden infant death syndrome is to have babies sleep on their backs, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and doctors believe SIDS risk increases if a mother shares a bed with her baby - the best alternative is to put a separate bassinet next to the mother's bed.
Vanderfeltz also serves as child health care coordinator for the Cole County Health Department, going to child care centers to talk with children about various topics. This past month the focus was on bug and sun safety.
A nurse for 11 years, during the pandemic, Vanderfeltz has done a lot of contact tracing - letting people know they may have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 and should monitor their health for symptoms. She also worked at vaccine clinics.
"I worked at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia during the first couple of months of the pandemic, so I took care of a lot of COVID patients," Vanderfeltz said. "We're not over it. We have many people who have been vaccinated and are getting infected. We try to get the message out that the vaccines were not the complete preventative; they are supposed to prevent a severe illness. We see mild symptoms with those people instead of severe symptoms, so that's good."
Vanderfeltz was pregnant during the pandemic, and her baby is doing well. In working with new mothers, Vanderfeltz said, she noted it is safe for them to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
"All three vaccines are safe, and they can help build antibodies in the baby," Vanderfeltz said. "I still tell the mothers it's up to them and their medical providers as to whether or not to get the vaccine. Doctors will have different opinions on this, so you have to do what you think is best for you and your health conditions."