Programs to Reduce Infant Deaths
Effectively (PRIDE)
In 1986, the Genesee County Health
Department (GCHD) formed the PRIDE
(Programs to Reduce Infant Deaths
Effectively) Action Committee. This
committee evolved into the PRIDE
Coalition chaired and staffed by the
GCHD. PRIDE
is a coalition of health and human
service organizations, individuals, and
community-based organizations in Genesee
County. It focuses on promoting a
healthy start for infants and decreasing
the
infant mortality rate in Genesee
County. PRIDE places particular
emphasis on African American infant
deaths and reducing the disparity among
racial groups through intervention,
prevention strategies and community
participation. PRIDE is also committed
to working together through broad-based
community representation to optimize the
health and well-being of women of
childbearing age and infants, by
establishing a system of universal
comprehensive quality education,
prevention, services and support. Since
its inception, the health department has
provided leadership for addressing major
social and health concerns related to
infant mortality in the Flint area. The
health department has provided in-kind
professional staff support for PRIDE’s
activity since 1986.
In
1998, the PRIDE Coalition worked on
various issues which evolved into the
development of 6 committees:
Child
Death Review, Community Programs and
Services, Public Awareness and
Education, Data Analysis/Research, Fund
Development, MISSING Links, and Medical
Services. With the implementation of
the REACH 2010 (Racial and Ethnic
Approaches to Community Health) project
in 2000, PRIDE leadership turned its
focus toward racial disparities in
infant mortality. While most of the
committees dissolved, the PRIDE
Medical Services Committee has been
parti cularly active in it’s work to
promote best practices in prenatal care,
organize a central perinatal database
and sponsoring continuing medical
education events for local
practitioners.
The Medical
Services Committee (MSC) is linked with
the work of the
REACH
U.S. Initiative (Racial and Ethnic
Approaches to Community Health Across
the U.S.) --a new phase of the REACH
2010 project-- concentrating its work on
the clinical environment in Genesee
County. Membership of the MSC includes
maternal/infant administrators from each
of the three hospitals, obstetricians
and gynecologists, neonatologists,
pediatricians, social workers, nurses
and representatives from other
healthcare organizations.
The goal of
the MSC is to shape the future
direction of maternal and infant health
in Genesee County to increase healthy
birth outcomes, especially among African
Americans, by influencing health
policies, and supporting training and
research. Strategies used
by the MSC include utilizing best
clinical practices to identify and
address maternal and infant health
issues; stimulating the education and
training of maternal and infant health
providers; collaborating with the
Fetal/Infant Mortality Review Team (FIMR)
to implement Infant Mortality Prevention
Recommendations within area health
systems; and strengthening the
participation of medical professionals
in PRIDE committees (Medical Services,
FIMR).
Accomplishments
include:
o Developed
and disseminated a Healthy Babies video
to local physicians offices
o Developed,
pilot-tested and implemented the
Prenatal Risk Assessment Tool (PRAT), a
uniform prenatal assessment tool –
currently used in more than 30% of local prenatal
care provider offices
o Implemented
the “Face Up to Wake Up” infant safe
sleep campaign
o Sponsored
annual continuing medical education
events on topics such as infant
mortality disparities, cultural
competence, racism and birth outcomes,
pregnancy and opiate addiction, fetal
infant mortality review and local infant
mortality updates
o Sponsoring
quarterly Perinatal Morbidity and
Mortality Reviews
o Developing
Perinatal Best Practice Guidelines
o Supporting
a process to establish a Regional
Perinatal System
To find out more about the PRIDE
Medical Services Committee or to join,
please call (810) 257-3202 or e-mail:
mfranks@gchd.us
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