By Ashley Grimes, MS, SpEd, HealthySteps Specialist, St. Joseph’s Health Primary Care Center in Syracuse, New York
I didn’t set out to work in health care. For the first seven years of my career, I was a teacher. I taught for a variety of grade levels, but I spent most of my time as a special education teacher. I was tasked with helping young children and their families navigate developmental challenges once they were already impacting their learning.
Over time, I kept asking myself the same question: what if we could support families earlier, before those challenges grew into something harder to manage? That’s what led me to HealthySteps.
Today, I work as a HealthySteps Specialist at a Family Medicine clinic, right where families already come for checkups or when something feels off or uncertain. Being there changes everything. I can meet parents in the moment. I provide guidance for nurturing parenting, translate concerns, answer developmental questions, and help them take the next step, before a potential challenge with their child escalates.
Building Trust, One Conversation at a Time
One mom still stays with me. When we first met, she was overwhelmed. She was navigating trauma, system barriers, and raising a young daughter with developmental concerns. She was not ready for referrals or evaluations. She just needed someone to listen. So that’s what I did. Visit after visit, we talked. No pressure. No jargon. Just building trust.
Months later, she looked at me and said, “I’m ready now. I feel safe.”
Together, we made referrals, scheduled evaluations, and connected her daughter to services. When I saw her again recently, everything had changed. She had support. Her child was connected to school. She told me she could finally breathe.
“She said to me, ‘I just don’t think I would’ve gotten here without HealthySteps.’”
– Ashley
Connecting families to what matters most
That’s the power of care coordination. It is not just making referrals; it’s walking with families as they take the steps, and giving them the confidence and tools to continue on the path forward.
My background as a special education teacher shapes everything I do. I understand school systems, developmental milestones, and how overwhelming the evaluation process can feel. That means I can bridge worlds so that medical, educational, and social systems become navigable for families.
“It’s not just ‘we’ll send a referral.’
It’s, ‘this is who you’ll hear from, and I’ll help you get there.’”
– Ashley
In many communities, families are dealing with far more than developmental concerns. Housing instability, environmental risks, and lack of support all play a role.
I cannot fix those systems, but I can connect families to people who can help and advocate for broader change. Because HealthySteps is not one person or one service. It’s a network. It takes a village, and here, you really feel that.
Why it Matters
Every day, I’m reminded that families do not just need answers. They need connection, patience, and someone who sees the whole picture. HealthySteps gives me the chance to do that work earlier, when it can make the biggest difference.
“Kids really are the future. And when you build strong supports, financial supports and mental health supports, all of that from the beginning, you are setting them up and their families up for success.”
– Ashley
At the same time, this work depends on something bigger than any one provider or clinic. Programs like HealthySteps are only possible with sustained investment in prevention and early childhood. Medicaid plays a critical role in making this model work by helping health systems like mine support the time, coordination, and relationships families need.
When funding is uncertain or cut, it is not just a line item that disappears. It is the connection, the guidance, and the moment a parent feels ready to say “yes” to help.
If we are serious about supporting children and families, we must invest earlier and more consistently. HealthySteps shows what is possible when we do.
Get information and advocacy resources about policies in New York that support children and their families.
Ashley Grimes has been at St. Joseph’s Primary Care Center since 2022 and helped officially launch the practice’s HealthySteps program in May 2024. Previously, Ashley taught in various early childhood settings, including preschool special education, second grade, and kindergarten. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from SUNY Fredonia and a master’s degree in early childhood special education from Syracuse University. She is currently pursuing her master’s in social work from Roberts Wesleyan University.
Ashley’s favorite part of being a HealthySteps Specialist is building relationships with families and partnering with them as they navigate the ups and downs of parenting. She is incredibly honored to serve as a HealthySteps Ambassador. Ashley is a proud wife, mom to a vivacious three-year-old daughter, and a dog mom.