Congressman Cohen Honored by Healthy Start for Infant Mortality Efforts

Washington, DC – Congressman Steve Cohen accepted an award presented to him by the National Healthy Start Association yesterday as part of a ceremony in the United States Capitol honoring him for his continuous efforts to reduce the rate of infant mortality in the United States.

“The Healthy Start Initiative’s continued efforts to ensure healthy births among high risk women and to provide needed resources to new and expecting mothers are important to me and necessary to many people in the 9th District,” Congressman Cohen said. “The U.S. is a leader in providing quality health care which makes the high rate of infant mortality in this country even more deplorable. It is a heart-wrenching tragedy that, in Shelby County, African-American babies die at a rate of three times the nation’s infant mortality rate. We must continue to work together to lower our nation’s infant mortality rate, and that starts with lowering our rate of premature births.”

Calondra Tibbs, the Project Director for the Healthy Start Program at Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, introduced Congressman Cohen at the award ceremony by saying, “We could not have achieved success with The Baby Store program – providing needed resources and services to new and expecting mothers and reducing the number of infant deaths across the county – without the direct support of Congressman Cohen.”

The infant mortality rate in Memphis is the highest in the U.S. and three times the national average of 6.86 deaths per 1,000 live births.

A longtime advocate of efforts to reduce infant mortality rates, Congressman Cohen has introduced and passed H.Res. 260 – a resolution supporting nationwide efforts to reduce infant mortality rates. He also authored the NEWBORN Act, a bill that addresses the growing problem of infant mortality by proposing a national pilot program to promote pre-natal care, community outreach, and the education of youth about the issue. Congressman Cohen is working with House leadership to ensure that the elements of the NEWBORN Act are included in Congress’ health care reform bill.

-30-