IMPACT Tennessee
www.impacttn.org
The Infant Mortality Public Awareness Campaign for Tennessee (IMPACT) is funded by a generous grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation. The overarching goals of IMPACT are to (1) increase the awareness of teens about infant mortality and related risk factors; (2) reduce behavioral risk factors associated with poor birth outcomes in underserved communities; and 3) train teens to be advocates for community change.
IMPACT is a teen directed program with a highly regarded and effective teen led peer to peer outreach and media campaign about infant mortality and the related contributing factors in the three counties with the highest rates of infant mortality in the state of Tennessee Hamilton, Davidson and Shelby.
In Tennessee, every 12 hours an infant dies before his or her first birthday. With an infant mortality ranking of 44th in the nation, Tennessee has one of the highest rates in the country. (Tennessee Governors Office, September 15, 2010)
The statistics are sobering. Infants born to mothers who have late-term or no pre-natal care are twice as likely to die as those who start care in their first trimester. Low birth weight babies are 19 times more likely to die in their first year.
In 2008, Hamilton County had the 2nd highest rate of infant mortality as compared to the three largest metropolitan areas in Tennessee.
Memphis has the highest rate of infant mortality among major cities in the United States.
In Shelby County, low-birth-weight babies, birth defects and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome account for about 60 percent of the deaths in the first year of a babys life.
Davidson Countys infant mortality rate is 12 out of 1,000 for African-American live births, excluding neo-natal deaths. Every week, one baby dies before reaching his or her first birthday. Overall, one in ten babies is born weighing less than 5.5 pounds and is at serious risk for health problems.
The need to reduce the high rates of infant mortality became a priority of Governor Bredesen, his administration and First Lady Andrea Conte. Initiatives were developed to reduce infant mortality through the Governors Office of Childrens Care Coordination. Among those initiatives was IMPACT because the long-term success of reducing the high rates of infant mortality depended upon educating the next generation of parents.
This year, through funding from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, IMPACT teams continue to be leaders for change in their communities.
To view video PSAs created by IMPACT teens, visit the link below.
To have an IMPACT team make a presentation, contact:
Abbey Keehn - Girls Inc. of Chattanooga, 423-624-4757
Loretta McNary - Girls Inc. of Memphis, 901-523-0217
Lawanda Bradley - Oasis Center - Nashville, 615-983-6897
Email us at: impact@girlsincofchatt.org
Visit us at: http://girlsincchattblog.com/impact/video-psas |
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Girls Inc. of Chattanooga
709 S. Greenwood Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37404 |
