Lifeline’s Mission
Lifeline’s mission is to compassionately cultivate life through tangible supports, relationship skills, and education. Lifeline’s goal is to serve men, women, students, and babies with love and compassion. We provide no-cost services to new moms and dads as they progress through pregnancy and into parenthood. Lifeline does not provide or refer for abortion.
Lifeline’s Story
Lifeline first opened in 1997, with the goal of serving anyone affected by an unexpected pregnancy. Throughout the years, the team has grown from a handful of volunteers to a team filled with highly skilled professionals. Many new services have been added as well, from ultrasounds, mobile clinics, to fatherhood education and sexual abuse prevention programs.
What our Clients Say
Lifeline is an amazing program! They provided me with everything I could need while I was pregnant and even more when baby got here! Not only are they beneficial for myself and my baby but they make us feel important every time I go in for an appointment. They really listen to what I have to say and treat me with respect, care, and concern. I absolutely LOVE attending their program every week. Thank you for everything, Lifeline.
Lifeline is such an amazing program. The staff is so polite and helpful with any questions or concerns you may have. They really are a lifeline.
I was 17 when I found out I was pregnant and they managed to help me get through it all and help me get a start on what I needed.
We love Patty with all our hearts! She was so important to us in our journey and we couldn’t be more thankful for all she did!
Lifeline’s Staff
Our staff is a team of professionals that come from different backgrounds but are united for the same purpose: serving others in their times of need.
Kris Polovich, BSN and Patty Jorden, RN | Clinic Nurses
Kris (left) is Lifeline’s clinic manager. Before working at Lifeline, she spent most of her years as a nurse in the operating room, first in Hannibal, and then at Mizzou’s University Hospital in the level one trauma center.
Patty (right) is a nurse at Lifeline and holds an associate degree in nursing. Prior to joining the staff, she worked in oncology and outpatient surgery, as well as on the general floor of Northeast Regional Medical Center. Kris and Patty run pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and accompany men and women in their pregnancy and parenting journeys. Both Kris and Patty are trained in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound through the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates.
Jackson Page, BA | DadLINE Education Coordinator
Before Lifeline, Jackson worked for Preferred Family Healthcare as a behavioral health technician and for Upward Bound as an academic coach. As a new father himself, Jackson is passionate about dads connecting and fostering supportive relationships with their children.
LeAnn Dent, MEd, PLPC, SRAS | Counselor
LeAnn started working at Lifeline in 2008 as a staff counselor. She holds an MA in Marriage and Family Counseling. Her job includes meeting with clients and helping them work through any emotional struggles or challenges they are facing, keeping all information confidential. She can also refer them to local licensed professional counselors and other community resources.
Angelita Garth, MS – Data Manager
Angelita Garth began working at Lifeline in 2020. She is responsible for everything data-related, from data collection, and data cleaning, to data analysis. Prior to joining Lifeline, she worked as a statistics professor at Truman State University and Moberly Area Community College in Kirksville, MO. In addition, her experience in adult education allowed her to tutor different segments of the population, improving her flexibility and adaptation skills in the process. Angelita graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics, followed by a Master’s Degree in Statistics from Iowa State University.
Heather Newsome | Financial Assistant
Heather is Lifeline’s Financial Assistant, taking care of the organization’s account balances, expenditures, inventory, monitoring program budgets, and much more. Before Lifeline, Heather worked in many different fields, as a medical assistant and technician, preschool teacher, bookkeeper, and office assistant. Through her various responsibilities over the years, Heather has learned determination, and flexibility, as well as to be a critical thinker.
Christie Allen | Office Assistant
Christie is Lifeline’s office assistant, welcoming clients, scheduling appointments, answering phone calls, and more. Before Lifeline, Christie worked many administrative jobs for the United States Military. During her time there, she was the Mayor of her military community, organized various events such as military balls, and acted as Program Manager for the military spouse support group.
Larissa Fajkus, BS | Ministry Assistant
Larissa graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. When she first joined Lifeline, she taught relationship and sexual risk avoidance education in schools with our Pure Freedom program. As a new mother, she now enjoys her new role as a ministry assistant. She is in charge of our weekly motherhood classes, as well as our “Understanding Dad” lessons.
Breanne Hunt, MBA – Executive Director
Breanne holds a Master of Business Administration from Trident University International and has been Lifeline’s Executive Director since 2008. Prior to joining the team, she worked for Preferred Family Healthcare, located only a few feet away from Lifeline at that time. Through her hard work and gentle demeanor, Breanne has helped Lifeline grow exponentially, both in the number of services offered and members on staff. In 2017, Breanne earned the Alliance for Life Servant Director of the Year award for the state of Missouri.
Amy Posterick, MAE – Program Director
Amy started working at Lifeline in 2015 as the Education Coordinator and holds the position of DadLINE’s Program Director. As such, Amy oversees the progression and implementation of the program and manages program reporting. She graduated with her Master of Arts in Education from Truman State University and is currently working on her Doctorate of Education degree from A.T. Still University. Before entering the non-profit sector, she taught as both a public and private school teacher.
Rachel Noe | Executive Assistant
Rachel joined the Lifeline team in December of 2012 as the Executive Assistant. She is in charge of Lifeline’s supporter relations, processing tax credit applications and donations. She also uses her creative skills to design Lifeline’s newsletters. With her knowledge of photography, Rachel gets to capture the big and little moments at Lifeline’s fundraising events.
Katie Ochs, MHEA| Communications Specialist
Katie joined the Lifeline team in July of 2022 as the Communications Specialist and is the face behind Lifeline’s social media and marketing efforts. Prior to joining Lifeline, Katie worked in higher education for seven years, before serving as an Association Executive of a local real-estate association. Katie holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master’s of Higher Education Administration.
Margo Staiger, BA| Pure Freedom Educator
Margo joined Lifeline May of 2022 as a Pure Freedom Educator because of her passion to work with middle and high school students. She believes that helping students to make healthy lifestyle choices is invaluable. Margo recently got married to her husband Alec (a second year medical student at ATSU) and is excited to get to know the Kirksville community. She has a degree in French Education from North Dakota State University and worked in Fargo as a French / World Language Survey teacher prior to working at Lifeline.
