Delivering Change: Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies
to Discuss Improved Infant Mortality and Morbidity Rates in Geary County.
In
2011, Geary County citizens faced troubling facts: their central Kansas
communities registered one of the state’s worst infant mortality and morbidity
rates (IMR), with 10.4 infant deaths per 1,000 births in the period between
2007 and 2010. In response, area parents and healthcare professionals created a
collaborative group to address health issues faced by infants and women of
child-bearing age.
Since
its beginnings in July 2011, Delivering Change: Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies
has helped to significantly reduce IMR rates by providing at-risk women and
their partners with improved access to prenatal education and care, assistance
in securing health insurance, and guidance finding financial aid, among other initiatives.
According to the most recent statistics from the Kansas Department of Health
& Environment (KDHE), the IMR in Geary County has declined to 6.6/1,000
live births for the period between 2010 and 2014.
“We keep
moving closer to the state and national averages,” said Jill Nelson, co-chair
for the Geary County Perinatal Coalition. “The investments of time, energy and
funding are working. And we’re thrilled to provide a model for others, and
consult as they establish their own coalitions.”
Indeed,
others want to emulate Delivering Change. Earlier this year, after 18 months of
planning and collaboration, Delivering Change expanded into neighboring Riley
County, which has established its own perinatal coalition. Delivering
Change representatives will meet with members of the press to discuss the
progress of their efforts and plans for the future Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 12 p.m.
in Geary Community Hospital’s third-floor, Medical Arts II conference room.
Advancing
from its grassroots beginnings, when funding came from the March of Dimes and the
Geary Community Health Foundation, Delivering Change today is backed by a
five-year, $3.5 million federal Healthy Start Initiative award, secured in 2014 with assistance from the Center for Public Partnerships
& Research (CPPR) at the University of Kansas (KU) and
administered by KDHE. The project continues Geary County’s collaborative
approach, with KDHE as project manager for the grant and CPPR providing evaluation services.
“Our ‘Becoming a mom’ curriculum provides evidence-based content that
really targets the mom and her support people in terms of the important
decision-makers,” said Terrah Stroda, a Junction City certified nurse/midwife.
“It also empowers a woman to make decisions that improve the health of herself
and her baby.”
CPPR
Director Jackie Counts said she and her colleagues were thrilled with the news
from Geary County. “As with so many of our collaborations across the state and
the nation,” Counts said, “we are providing communities with tools to help them
take a closer look at the current status of their early-childhood efforts,
identify areas of improvement and determine steps to reach the desired
outcomes.
“Delivering
Change is a terrific example of what can happen when concerned individuals team
up to connect talents and passions with practical programs that address
challenging community issues. It’s proof that working together, we can make a
positive difference.”
More
about Delivering Change
Delivering Change: Healthy Moms-Healthy
Babies is a three-pronged approach to improving birth outcomes and improving
the health of our infants, focusing on women of childbearing age: including
interconception health, prenatal and postpartum care; promoting and supporting
breastfeeding; and parent, provider and community education to increase
infant-health knowledge and prevent infant injuries and death.
More about KDHE
At KDHE, our
mission is to protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.
Through education, direct services and the assessment of data and
trends, coupled with policy development and enforcement, KDHE will improve
health and quality of life. We prevent illness, injuries and foster a safe and
sustainable environment for the people of Kansas.
More about CPPR
One of the KU
Achievement & Assessment Institute’s four research centers, CPPR assists
partners with addressing complex social issues through research and evaluation,
systems development, professional development, technical assistance and
performance management systems. CPPR currently has more than 50 grants in the
areas of early childhood, child welfare, child-abuse prevention, K-12 education
and at-risk families. Strong partnerships with the Kansas Children's Cabinet
& Trust Fund, Kansas Department of Health & Environment, Kansas State
Department of Education and the Kansas Health Foundation result in innovations,
positive change, and support for at-risk children, youth and families across
the state.
