MetroHealth Opens The Moms House For Pregnant Women in Recovery From Opiate Use Disorder

Cleveland - Sobriety is a difficult journey to walk alone, so The MetroHealth System is offering a safe, confidential home for mothers as they continue recovery from opiate use disorder and other substance use disorders.

The Moms House is the first of its kind in the Cleveland area; it will accommodate three pregnant women during their pregnancy and after they’ve given birth. Moms and soon-to-be moms living in the house will have full access to resources and MetroHealth’s medical staff to help them cope and remain healthy.

Jennifer Bailit, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist knows just how vulnerable pregnant women in recovery can be. For years, she has lobbied for a safe space where pregnant women can go to continue their sobriety journey while caring for themselves and their unborn babies.

"There's so much more to health care than prescribing medicine," says Dr. Bailit. "This program is adding another square in our quilt to wrap around the women in need in our community."

Many existing programs that provide housing to those in recovery don’t accept residents taking substances such as Subutex (buprenorphine) and methadone as part of their opioid addiction treatment. The Moms House does.

This type of housing is also critical for women and children since other programs typically help men, require enrollment in an inpatient program and don’t have accommodations for children of the residents coming in. The Moms House is one of only a couple of programs that welcome women and their children.

This sort of work isn’t out of the ordinary for MetroHealth, this only adds to the goal of being at the forefront of improving the outcomes for high-risk, drug-dependent women and their babies. Through the Mother and Child Dependency Program, pregnant women and their infants are offered a non-judgmental environment to deal with medical and emotional problems caused by addiction to drugs such as prescription opiates or heroin. 

Funding for the house was made possible by Jacke and Eric Wiedemer. After the couple witnessed the loving care provided to Eric's father, Rick Wiedemer, in the Neurocritical Care Unit, they knew they had to find a way to give back to MetroHealth. "I wanted to get involved with helping families thrive," says Jacke.

MetroHealth recently welcomed a new resident supervisor or House Mom, Kim Glover, who will be living in the house and will oversee daily operations. She has her own story of overcoming addiction, so she understands the fragility that comes with recovery. For the safety and privacy of residents, the location of the home is not available to the public.

To donate to The Moms House, visit https://www.metrohealth.org/foundation/donate, click “Other" in the drop-down menu, and indicate that the donation is for the Mother & Child Dependency Sober Housing.

More information on The Moms House can be found here: https://www.metrohealth.org/obgyn/substance-use-and-pregnancy.