September/October 2012

September/October 2012

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

Infant Mortality, Prematurity and Preconception Health

By Stephanie Birch, RNC, MPH, MS, FNP

Attention to reducing the rates of Infant Mortality has gained some ground over the last couple of years thanks to the focused attention of AMCHP, the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the March of Dimes all working together to support state and local maternal and child health (MCH) programs in this work. This key indicator enables state MCH programs to utilize and highlight the capacity, knowledge and resources that they have and the work they do in partnership with other state and local agencies and health care providers on this complex and multifaceted issue. [more]

FROM THE CEO

Going for Gold

By Mike R. Fraser, PhD CAE

I loved watching the Summer Olympics this year. "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" were definitely present and it was great fun to see so many records broken and medals won. Country against country, athlete against athlete, the whole spectacle of the Olympics was very cool. Throughout my viewing, however, was a twinge in the back of my mind: something just didn’t feel right. When I finally focused on what was bothering me I realized that I was making comparisons to health status between countries and there was a contradiction between how great our athletes were doing in their events in London and how poor our population health was back at home. [more]

FEATURES

SUCCESS STORIES

AMCHP ALCs Focus on Birth Outcomes

By Piia Hanson
Program Manager, Women's and Infant Health

With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, AMCHP is working on multiple projects that provide capacity-building technical assistance to state MCH programs to ultimately improve birth outcomes. This includes the Optimizing Health Care Reform to Improve Birth Outcomes project and the Partnership to Eliminate Disparities in Infant Mortality project. As we are routinely seeking opportunities to share lessons learned from our member action learning collaboratives (ALCs) in an effort to help your work, we asked our project participants to share their success stories and offer valuable advice. [more]

Success Stories: Reducing Infant Mortality in Teen Pregnancies

The United States has made great strides in reducing teen pregnancy in the last number of years; however, the infant mortality rate for babies born to teen mothers is still shockingly high. Statistics tell us that this is due to babies being born prematurely and at low birth weight. But, the issue is complex; factors such as smoking, lack of adequate prenatal care, substance abuse, domestic violence and poor physical health among others contribute to poor birth outcomes. [more]

Developing Recommendations on Preconception Health for Young Adults with Disabilities: Oregon Experience with an AMCHP ALC

By Lesa A. Dixon-Gray, MSW, MPH
Women’s Health Program Coordinator, Maternal and Child Health Section, Center for Prevention and Health Promotion, Oregon Health Authority

Current preconception health recommendations have not addressed the unique needs of young adults with disabilities. While young adults with disabilities are just as likely to be sexually active and less likely to use condoms, this group is often treated as if they were not sexual beings or would not become pregnant. Approximately one in five women in the United States has a disability (an estimated 16.8 to 28.6 million) and an increasing number of women with disabilities are becoming pregnant and report facing negative attitudes toward their pregnancies and difficulty receiving comprehensive prenatal care. [more]

MEMBER TO MEMBER

Member states that have participated in the MCHB Region IV and VI Infant Mortality Summit and COIN were asked:

What early achievements or successes have you seen? What lessons learned can you share with other states?

Bradley Planey, M.S., M.A.
Associate Branch Chief, Family Health Branch, Arkansas Department of Health

For several years, the Arkansas Department of Health has recognized the importance of reducing the state infant mortality rate (IMR) and it is one of our strategic goals. In 2009, 290 babies died in Arkansas before their first birthday, (an IMR of 7.3 deaths per 1000 live births), placing Arkansas in the top 10 for the highest IMR. The burden of infant death was not shared equally among Arkansas residents. Higher rates occurred in counties with rural, poor and minority populations, especially in the Mississippi Delta. [more]

Kris-Tena Albers, CNM, MN
Director, Infant, Maternal and Reproductive Health Unit, Florida Department of Health

Florida engaging with the MCHB Region IV and VI Infant Mortality Summit and Collaborative provides the state an opportunity to have ongoing communication with the multidisciplinary state team to work on the reduction of infant mortality and preterm births. [more]

Michael Warren, MD MPH FAAP
Director, Division of Family Health and Wellness, Tennessee Department of Health

On Sept. 20, the Tennessee Department of Health hosted a statewide infant mortality summit, "Tennesseans Teaming Up for Change." Forty two local community teams (made up of more than 200 individuals) attended the event. Welcoming remarks were provided by the Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam and Commissioner of Health, Dr. John Dreyzehner. [more]

Sam B. Cooper III, LMSW-IPR
Director, Office of Title V & Family Health, Family & Community Health Services Division, Texas Department of State Health Services

The earliest successes have been seen primarily in strengthened partnerships with stakeholders in our state systems and with local coalitions in Texas. We have improved communication among partners on critical areas that impact the health outcomes of pregnant women and infants. [more]

A VIEW FROM WASHINGTON

How Will the Supreme Court Ruling on the ACA Impact MCH?

By Brent Ewig, MHS
Director, Public Policy& Government Affairs, AMCHP

Now that the dust has settled around the long-awaited Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), we have a little more insight and analysis on what the ruling means for MCH. For kids, it is clear that their eligibility was not changed by the ruling. But for women -- particularly very poor women -- the impact appears to be potentially far reaching. [more]

HONORS AND ACCOLADES

Dr. Ruth Ann Shepard,division director for maternal and child health with the Kentucky Department for Public Health, was awarded this year’s ASTHO Presidential Meritorious Service Award. [more]

WHO'S NEW

New MCH Leaders

See a list of new MCH partners. [more]

GET INVOLVED

Find data on the current Title V program capacity to use core state preconception health indicators here.

RESOURCES

View and download resources about infant mortality, prematurity and preconception health here.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Meet the AMCHP Board of Directors.

AMCHP STAFF

Meet the AMCHP staff.