From the CEO
Going for Gold
This summer’s Olympics were an awesome spectacle. World records were broken, medals were doled out, and dreams came true for some of the best athletes on the planet. The nation’s medal count was impressive – 36 gold, 38 silver, and 36 bronze medals were bestowed upon U.S. athletes – the most medals awarded the United States since the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. New facilities were built in record time and new technologies were introduced to many events including the ultra-slippery swimming gear which may have made the difference in swimmers reaching some of the fastest speeds in history. Television coverage of the events was ubiquitous and included a daily tally of how many medals had been awarded to the United States broadcasted on most major news networks. For two solid weeks it seemed like nothing else in the world mattered but how many medals our fellow Americans would bring home at the end of the Games and how many records they would break. And boy did they make us proud.
Given our success at the Beijing Olympics, I couldn’t help but ponder what would happen if the United States competed in a maternal and child health Olympics. Would our medal count compare?
[read Mike Fraser's full article]
AMCHP Awarded State Public Health Coordinating Center on Autism
AMCHP is pleased to announce that it was awarded a cooperative agreement with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau to be the State Public Health Coordinating Center for Autism. Through this funding, AMCHP will create a comprehensive technical assistance and resource center that will support both state Combating Autism Act Initiative grantees, as well as all state Title V programs as they develop and implement systems to improve the health and well-being of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental disabilities. We look forward to partnering with you as we move forward on this exciting opportunity! If you have any questions about the State Public Health Coordinating Center for Autism or would like further information, please contact Lauren Raskin Ramos at lramos@amchp.org.
Get Involved
New Content from the MCH Journal
The July 2008 issue of the Maternal and Child Health Journal (MCH Journal) contains several articles related to reducing infant mortality and improving birth outcomes.
[read more]
Member Panel Spotlight
AMCHP staff interviewed two AMCHP members - Loretta (Deliana) Fuddy (HI) and Suzanna Dooley (OK) - to gain insight on promising strategies and approaches to reduce infant mortality. Both Title V Directors described some emerging and innovative strategies to reduce infant mortality in their state.
[read more]
Movers and Shakers
An interview with James Collins, MD, MPH, Chairman of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality.
[read more]
Success Stories
From 2004-2006, AMCHP partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation to form the State Infant Mortality Collaborative (SIMC). This three-year project supported five multidisciplinary state teams, as they investigated the infant mortality problem in their jurisdictions and made plans to address it as they deemed feasible and appropriate.
[read more]