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WHEREAS, Infant mortality, referring to the death of a baby before it reaches its first birthday, is especially prevalent in communities with large minority populations, high rates of unemployment, poverty, and limited access to safe housing and medical providers; and,
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania ranks 17th in infant deaths, with an infant mortality rate of 7.5 deaths per 1,000 live births according to the United States Census Bureau; and,
WHEREAS, Infant mortality is a significant and troubling public health issue for which studies have shown that the cost of care for low birth weight babies, a major risk factor associated with infant death, has an estimated annual economic impact of $26.2 billion; and,
WHEREAS, In 1991, the high overall infant mortality rate in the City of Pittsburgh allowed for the designation of one of the original 15 Healthy Start projects to be placed within the county by the Maternal & Child Health Bureau, Health Resources & Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; and,
WHEREAS, since the implementation of the Healthy Start, Inc. Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Project, the infant mortality rate for all races has been decreased by approximately 30%, immensely impacting African American families positively, while also successfully increasing the rate of a pregnant woman's participation in early prenatal care during her first trimester to 89.1% and 92.7% respectively, directly saving the lives of many vulnerable infants; and,
WHEREAS, nine out of ten children born to parents receiving services from Healthy Start, Inc. in Allegheny and Fayette County are born full term, at normal weight, and without the incidence of birth defects; and,
WHEREAS, organizations such as Healthy Start, which is a federally funded community-based organization that implements case management, home visiting, health education, and has an active community coalition, have contributed significantly to decreasing the high rates ...
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