Washington, DC – Today in the U.S. Capitol, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) conducted a briefing on infant mortality, featuring medical professionals from across the country who gathered to discuss the problem of infant mortality in the United States.

“The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is one of the highest of any nation in the industrialized world,” Congressman Cohen stated, “and Memphis has one of the highest rates in the country.  We cannot waste another moment without taking action and I will continue to pursue whatever measures are necessary to work toward solutions to this health crisis.”

Brian Dobbins, Managed Care Director, of The Regional Medical Center (The MED) and Dr. Ramasubbareddy Dhanireddy, medical director of the Sheldon Korones Newborn Center at The MED and Chief of Neonatology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center were among the presenters.

Dr. Ronald David, co-chair of The National Infant Mortality Commission addressed Congressional staffers, concerned citizens and health care professionals, who told the group to “Go to Ruth’s, house,” referring to The DC Family Health and Birth Center and the progress made there in reducing infant mortality as well as providing the tools for mothers to actively participate in their own health care.

Ruth Watson Lubic, founder and Chair Emerita of the Family Health and Birth Center in Washington, D.C. shared her views and experiences with the audience.  Mrs. Lubic was joined by Joan Brickhouse, a mother from the DC Family Health and Birth Center, who is also a doula (a coach or advocate for other new mothers) and a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor. 

(Complete list of presenters below.)

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Contact:

Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, (202) 225-3265 / (202) 368-9275 (mobile)

Infant Mortality: A Crisis in Public Health
A Briefing Hosted by Congressman Steve Cohen
Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 9:00-10:00am
U.S. Capitol, Room HC-8

In spite of substantial decreases in infant mortality in the past half century, the nation’s infant mortality rate today is still disturbingly high, placing the U.S. second to worst in a 2006 Save the Children study of infant mortality among industrialized nations.  Additionally, great health disparities still exist in the United States.  Minorities, particularly African Americans, are disproportionately affected.  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports that non-Hispanic African-American babies have the highest rate of death nationwide.  In Shelby County, TN, African American babies die at a rate three times the national infant death rate. 

Infant mortality is the most sensitive measure of the social ills afflicting a community.  The high infant mortality rate in the United States is a crisis in public health.  Communities like Memphis are in desperate need of change.  By bringing together different voices from our communities, with different areas of expertise, we can work towards better outcomes for babies and families.

Today, we will identify different factors contributing to the problem of infant mortality, discuss the disproportionate effect on African-American families, and analyze approaches to reducing the high rate of infant death. 

PRESENTERS

Ronald David, M.D., M.Div.,
The National Infant Mortality Commission, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
The Rev. Dr. Ronald David is an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church and chaplain certified by the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy.  He also is a physician board certified in pediatrics and neonatal/perinatal medicine, and a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Dr. David’s work related to the tragic problem of infant mortality includes clinical experience in newborn intensive care; research on the history and practice of neonatal resuscitation; membership on a mayor’s consortium to study infant mortality in the city of Pittsburgh; public service as deputy and acting secretary of health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; appointment as a lecturer in public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; chief medical officer of the DC Health and Hospitals Public Benefit Corporation; lecturer and research associate at the UCLA School of Public Affairs; and, most recently, co-chair of the National Commission on Infant Mortality under the auspices of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and its Health Policy Institute.

In the work of the National Commission on Infant Mortality, Dr. David and his colleague commissioners challenge the conventional wisdom which ascribes poor pregnancy outcomes to inadequate medical care and/or bad maternal behavior.  Rather, the Commission finds that threats to the health of childbearing women and their offspring are a direct consequence of social injustices and inequalities.  Per force, the response to infant mortality must be one of justice and equality.  Dr. David will discuss these findings and the Commission’s recommendations in the domains of public policy, standards of care, and research. 

Jessica Gibson and Erin Do
The Tennessee State Comptroller’s Office
Erin Do and Jessica Gibson are Principal Legislative Research Analysts with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury's Offices of Research and Education Accountability. In her three years with the office, Ms. Do has written reports on a variety of public policy issues, including infant mortality, charter schools, and indigent health care.  Ms. Gibson in her three years with the office has written reports on and researched a variety of public policy issues, including infant mortality, family life education, and Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarships.

Ms. Do and Ms. Gibson produced a report entitled "Mother and Babies: The Health of Tennessee's Future" in March 2006.  Today they will be addressing some of their general findings related to poor birth outcomes in Tennessee, social factors influencing poor birth outcomes, programs available in Tennessee and their funding streams.  They will conclude by giving a brief overview of some recent initiatives in their state targeted toward the goal of reducing infant mortality.

Ramasubbareddy Dhanireddy, M.D.,
The Newborn Center at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis
Dr. Dhanireddy is the Sheldon B. Korones Endowed Professor and Chief of the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.  He is also the Medical Director of the Sheldon Korones Newborn Center at the Regional Medical Center (The MED) in Memphis, Tennessee.  The MED has one of the oldest and largest newborn intensive care units in the United States. Over 1,400 low birth weight or critically ill newborns are treated at the Newborn Center each year.  Dr. Dhanireddy will talk about prematurity and low birth weight, two of the leading causes of infant death, and will discuss the support that these infants and their families require.

Brian Dobbins, J.D.,
The Regional Medical Center at Memphis
Brian Dobbins is Managed Care Director at The MED.  He is a 1991 graduate of Morehouse College and 1996 graduate of Temple University School of Law.  Mr. Dobbins has worked in the healthcare industry for more than 10 years in various capacities in managed care representing the payor and provider.  He has also worked on various committees focused on addressing the concern of prematurity and low-weight births.  Mr. Dobbins will describe The MED’s efforts to reduce infant mortality and the outcomes experienced through the collaborative managed by Alpha Maxx Healthcare.  He will discuss how a collaborative effort that focuses on more than the mothers and encourages full participation can make a difference.

Ruth Watson Lubic, CNM, Ed.D, FAAN, FACNM,
The DC Family Health and Birth Center
Ruth Watson Lubic is a nurse-midwife and applied anthropologist.  Known for her work in developing the freestanding birth center model, Dr. Lubic is the first nurse to have received a MacArthur Fellowship.  She served for two years as an Expert Consultant to the Assistant Secretary for Health in Washington.  The American Academy of Nursing in 2001 named her a Living Legend and the American College of Nurse-Midwives honored her with its highest recognition, the Hattie Hemschemeyer Award. 

Currently, Dr. Lubic serves as Founder and Chair Emerita of the Family Health and Birth Center and Founder and President Emerita of the Developing Families Center, an innovative, collaborative service located in the District of Columbia.  The service is designed to improve the health and quality of life of childbearing and child rearing families, particularly those of low income who suffer high rates of infant and maternal morbidity and mortality. She will discuss her work with the Family Health and Birth Center and how its model has reduced significantly the disparities found between African American and other populations.