TACHP Member Spotlight: Driscoll Health Plan's Nurture Program is Helping Pregnant Woman and Changing Lives
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TACHP Member Spotlight: Driscoll Health Plan's Nurture Program is Helping Pregnant Woman and Changing Lives

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Texas Association of Community Health Plans (TACHP), an association representing eleven community health plans serving more than 2 million Medicaid members throughout the state, today announced the success of the Driscoll Health Plan in creating an innovative nutrition program to help pregnant women in South Texas. This region has rates of gestational diabetes that are 2.5 times higher than the national average. This condition is a major driver of complications for mothers and infants, contributing to higher risks of preeclampsia, hypertension, and cesarean delivery.

Recognizing this challenge, in 2021, Driscoll Health Plan launched the Nurture Program in partnership with Factor Health at Dell Medical School, UT Austin and Episcopal Health Foundation. The program is more than just a benefit, it’s a patient-centered intervention designed to address food insecurity, improve nutrition, and empower pregnant women to make healthier choices. Unlike “one-size-fits-all” meal delivery models, Nurture gives mothers both choice and support through grocery gift cards, personalized nutrition consultations and eduction and community health worker (CHW) outreach.

But the Nurture Program is not just about access to healthier food, it’s about building trust and engagement. The response was overwhelming:

  • 99% of women contacted enrolled in the program.
  • 89% attended at least one nutrition consultation and most attended two or more.
  • 86% of grocery gift cards were fully used, averaging $234 in support per participant.

The results were striking. Compared to women not enrolled in the program, participants experienced:

  • Higher rates of vaginal delivery (56% vs 49.5%), a critical outcome in reducing unnecessary cesarean sections, which carry higher risks and costs.
  • Fewer preterm births (13% vs 17%).
  • Shorter newborn hospital stays (3.7 days vs 4.6 days).

“The Nurture Program showed that through support and providing choice, it empowered and motivated pregnant women eat healthier and gave them the knowledge and skills to make their families healthier,” said Dr. Karl Serrao, Chief Medical Officer, Driscoll Health Plan.

The Driscoll team created real personal relationships with its pregnant mothers that only a Community Health Plan can do. It is a relational model that wants to get to know and take care of the whole person with the client at the center, respecting their choices, and addressing non-medical drivers of health.

Of course, Driscoll Health Plan offers a wide variety of other community services and in 2024, Driscoll Health Plan’s community investment reached $530,939. But the true value lies in the lives changed, the disparities reduced, and the futures made brighter. This is what community health plans do that no one else can do. We are redefining what healthcare means. It’s not just about treating illness; it’s about preventing it. It’s about empowering families. It’s about building stronger, healthier communities from the ground up.

Because when we say, “food is medicine,” we mean it. And with programs like Nurture, we’re proving it.

SOURCE Texas Association of Community Health Plans