Building a Comprehensive Community Collaboration Model: Rural and Urban Models that serve to elimina

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Building a Comprehensive Community Collaboration
Model Rural and Urban Models that serve to
eliminate infant mortality.

• Dannai Harriel, Perinatal Systems Liaison,
  Healthy Start, Inc. Pittsburgh/Allegheny County
• Marlene Kolosky, Perinatal Systems Liaison,
  Fayette County Healthy Start
• CityMatCH Conference
• August 25-28, 2007
• Denver, CO

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INFANT MORTALITY-THE PROBLEM

• Every two minutes, a low birth weight baby is born

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Infant Mortality The Problem

• AfricanAmerican babies are more than twice as
  likely to die before their first birthday than
  white babies.
• African-American babies are nearly five times
  more likely to die from prematurity than white
  babies.
• Birth defects are the number one cause of death
  during the first year of life for all babies in
  the United States.

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Background

• The Healthy Start program was launched in 1991
  by the Health Resources and Services
  Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Public Health
  Service to demonstrate innovative ways to reduce
  infant mortality in some of the areas with the
  highest infant mortality rates in the country.
• It is legislatively mandated that Healthy Start
  grants establish and maintain for the life of the
  project, a community-based consortium of
  individuals and organizations.

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The Commitment

• Healthy Start of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
  has been committed from its inception to make
  this project truly community-driven.
• Assessments drawn from community forums and focus
  groups confirmed, significant improvement in
  infant mortality rates will require more than a
  medical model it will require attitudinal change
  and commitment on the part of an entire
  community.
• To achieve such commitment to change requires
  sustained and cooperative involvement of the
  community in both planning and implementation.

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The Healthy Start, Inc. Mission

• To focus primarily on the reduction of infant
  mortality and low birth weight babies in
  Southwestern PA in such a way as to make valuable
  use of its resources, preserve its flexibility
  and continue to offer seamless services with the
  intent of improving the quality of life of
  infants, toddlers, youths, siblings, parents and
  grandparents and the community.

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The Pittsburgh Project
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The Pittsburgh Model (Urban)

• Two major objectives of the Pittsburgh Healthy
  Start Program include
• Creation of the non-profit Healthy Start, Inc. to
  implement the project with a Board of Directors
  that was sensitive to participant needs.
• Maximize community involvement through a
  consortium and other community empowerment
  strategies.

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The Healthy Start, Inc. Board of Directors
Consortia

• Consortia
• A broad-based group of community leaders and
  consumers active in the planning, implementation
  process and in mobilizing their respective
  communities.
• Board of Directors
• Composed of consumers and community leaders from
  the private and public sectors serve as the
  primary advisory arm of the Pittsburgh/Allegheny
  County Healthy Start program responsible for
  ensuring that the systemic, strategic vision of
  the project is realized throughout all program
  initiatives

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Organizational Framework

• Healthy Start is designed to support the
  comprehensive, participantdriven approach of the
  project.
• It is systematic and interactive in nature, that
  is, it provides for the involvement of community
  representation at all levels of the planning and
  implementation process.

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Organizational Model
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Fayette County Project
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Background (Fayette)

• In 2001, Fayette County Healthy Start implemented
  a three-pronged approach to community
  involvement
• Healthy Start, Inc. Board of Directors
• Fayette Community Health Improvement Partnership
  (CHIP)
• Perinatal Task Force

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Organizational Model
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The Fayette Model (Rural)

• The Community Health Improvement Partnership
  (CHIP)- Formed in 1995 to address the health
  disparities for residents of Fayette. CHIPs
  professional membership encompasses all facets of
  health and human services, hospitals,
  private/public sectors, therefore developing
  partnerships on all levels.
• The Perinatal Task Force-A broad- based group of
  individuals from the community and local
  agencies, active in designing and supporting
  grassroots advocacy initiatives to reduce infant
  mortality and eliminate health disparities.

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Membership

• Program Participants-25 or 28
• Community-Based Organizations- 24 or 27
• State/Local Government-2 or 2
• Community Participants- 26 or 30
• Private Agencies- 6 or 7
• Other- 5 or 6

• Program Participants-2 or 7
• Community-Based Organizations.- 11-41
• State/Local Government- 2 or 7
• Community Participants-5 19
• Private Agencies.- 3-11
• Other-4- 15

• Pittsburgh/Allegheny County-Urban

• Fayette County -Rural

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Urban Rural Roles Responsibilities

• Promote the mission of the Healthy Start Program
• Develop a Local Health Systems Action Plan
  (LHSAP)
• Refer eligible families for service
• Needs assessments
• Evaluate service delivery system
• Volunteering and mentoring
• Provide training/expertise to staff development

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Urban RuralRoles Responsibilities

• Indigenous hiring
• Identify resources to prolong the financial
  sustainability of the project
• Heighten awareness and cultural sensitivity
  about health disparities and infant mortality

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Impact

• In Southwestern PA the Board of Directors along
  with the Consortia and Perinatal Task Force
  actively enhance the reduction of infant
  mortality through a holistic program of
  individual and neighborhood empowerment that
  promises to improve the quality of life for
  residents of all ages.

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Accomplishments

• Healthy Start, as designed and implemented, is a
  long-term rather than a short-term strategy to
  reducing infant mortality.
• Healthy Start has shown that local communities
  can, with support, develop and implement
  innovative approaches to reducing infant
  mortality

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Healthy Start, Inc.

• For more information about us,
• call the Healthy Start Helplines at
• [phone]
• or
• [phone]
• or
• visit our website at
• www.healthystartpittsburgh.org

Healthy Start, Inc. is supported in part by
project No. CFDA 93.926E from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Health
Resources and Services Administration, Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (Title V, Social Security
Act)