African American babies born in Fresno County are dying before their first birthdays at an alarming rate.
Inadequate health care is just one reason.
“Unfortunately, the black infant death mortality for African Americans based on population in Fresno County is the highest in the state of California.” – Henry Perea, Commission Chairman, First 5 Fresno County
Henry Perea says First 5 Fresno County, in partnership with the Central Valley Health Policy Institute (CVHPI), is hosting a community event to find the reasons behind the rates and discuss recommendations to change the odds for these vulnerable babies.
First 5 Fresno County funded CVHPI to conduct a 6-month needs assessment and recently heard the results at its July Commission meeting.
In its assessment, CVHPI, with the guidance of diverse maternal and child health experts and at-risk women, explored a myriad of factors that place African American women and infants in Fresno County at increased risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes.
First 5 Fresno County, CVHPI researchers, Fresno State President Joseph Castro, the faith community, African American leaders, health experts, business owners, elected officials and residents will join together at the community event in a thoughtful conversation about the feasibility of the research team’s recommendations and help inform its final report.
“Infant mortality is a reflection of the community’s overall health,” said Emilia Reyes, Executive Director at First 5 Fresno County. “We hope to support community efforts to create better maternal and infant health outcomes for all families in Fresno County.”
Education, community, buy-in and county resources all play a part, along with funding.
“We are going to be going to the state in the next month, and we’re going to be securing more funding to increase the public health nursing staffing, and health education staffing, so that we can do the outreach not just in west Fresno but throughout Fresno County to define moms who are in this situation and give them the prenatal care they need and help them bring healthy babies into this world.” –
The meeting runs from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 11th at Gaston Middle School. the public is encouraged to attend.
Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/african-american-infant-mortality-in-fresno-county-community-stakeholder-meeting-tickets-17813294042
