Month: August 2022

Missouri Foundation for Health Funding

Date: August 16, 2022

Rethinking, Reimagining, Reenvisioning

The Missouri Foundation for Health Opportunity Fund is looking for ideas that will create impactful and sustainable systems-level change on significant health issues. The Missouri Foundation for Health is interested in concepts that challenge systems that create and perpetuate inequities by shifting the conditions that hold them in place.

Projects should address issues related to health care and/or the social determinants of health and tackle structural inequities. Approaches include changes to policies, practices, resource flows, relationships, power dynamics, narratives, or mental models. This can be achieved through a variety of strategies, including projects, convenings, and research.

Ready to get started?

To share your idea with the Missouri Foundation for Health, submit a brief concept paper. Staff will review concept papers and then send invitations to organizations to submit full proposals if the idea fits with Opportunity Fund and aligns with the Missouri Foundation for Health mission and values.

Concept papers are due September 29, 2022, at noon (CT).

LEARN MORE

Spatial Access to Hospital-based Obstetric Units in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Areas

Date: August 16, 2022

Spatial Access to Hospital-based Obstetric Units in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Areas

Travel burdens to reach a hospital with obstetric units vary. This report looks at spatial access to hospital-based obstetric units in minoritized racial/ethnic areas.

Key Findings

  • Over two-thirds of rural ZIP code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) are more than 15 miles away from their nearest hospital obstetric unit and 27.2% of rural ZCTAs are over 30 miles away. In contrast, less than 9% of urban ZCTAs are over 30 miles from a hospital obstetric unit.
  • In urban ZCTA areas with high proportions of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) residents, 34.1% had no hospital-based obstetric unit within 15 miles, and this number increased to 80.2% in rural AI/AN areas.
  • Approximately one third of rural ZCTAs with highly represented Hispanic/Latino populations have no obstetric care within 30 miles. This is similar to highly represented White rural communities. However, rural Hispanic/Latino minoritized racial/ethnic group (MRG) areas have much higher uninsured rates than rural areas highly represented by White residents or those without MRGs.
  • Results suggest that Black-White maternal health disparities might be independent of distances to a hospital obstetric unit at the community level and instead associated with the social determinants of health.

Contact Information:

Peiyin Hung, PhD, MSPH
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Phone: 803.777.9867
hungp@mailbox.sc.edu

Additional Resources of Interest:

Missouri Water Fluoridation Summit

Date: August 16, 2022

Missouri Water Fluoridation Summit

October 13-14, 2022
Poplar Bluff, Missouri 
The Missouri Office of Dental Health in collaboration with our sponsors, the American Dental Association (ADA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Missouri Coalition for Oral Health and Delta Dental is hosting the first Water Fluoridation Summit on October 13-14, 2022 at the Holiday Inn in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  Please see the registration link below. Due to spacing restrictions, it is limited to 150 attendees. The first 150 people to register will be able to attend. A waiting list will be kept in lieu of cancellations received.

Register here

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn at a discounted rate. Please see the link for booking your room!  Hotel Booking Link.

Access the agenda.

Please be aware the sessions are subject to change. There will be two, in-person tours available of the New Wave Fluoridation Feeder System, one in the morning on October 13th and one in the afternoon on October 14th. Select your choice on the registration form. A pre-recorded video of the tour will be available and will be shared in case you are unable to attend one of the in-person tours. The Office of Dental Health will do their best to accommodate everyone’s preference for a tour time.

Sessions will include ADA CERP CE credits through the Missouri Primary Care Association. These will be free of charge! Everyone is encouraged to fill out the registration form if you want to attend even if your travel approval is still pending. the Office of Dental Health is working on a virtual option and more information will follow soon.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to the Office of Dental Health at oralhealth@health.mo.gov or by calling 573-751-5874. The Office of Dental Health is happy to take suggestions and wants to answer any questions you might have!  Looking forward to seeing everyone in October in the beautiful little town of Poplar Bluff, which is also known as “The Gateway to the Ozarks”!

USDA Recognizes Exemplary Peer Support for Breastfeeding Mothers

Date: August 4, 2022

USDA recognizes exemplary peer support for breastfeeding mothers
2 WIC local agencies honored as model programs

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded two (2) WIC local agencies with the 2022 Gold WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence for exemplary efforts in supporting breastfeeding WIC mothers. The two agencies are: Clay County Public Health Center and Dunklin County Health Department. These awards were part of USDA’s National WIC Breastfeeding Week, celebrated August 1-7.

Breastfeeding provides countless benefits to both babies and mothers, as well as many benefits to society as a whole, including decreased healthcare costs and increased productivity. While breastfeeding is natural, there is a learning curve for moms and babies, and all mothers benefit from having a supportive environment in which to learn how to feed their babies. Many mothers find success in breastfeeding through education and support from breastfeeding peer counselors and lactation consultants, and providing these resources to mothers is a crucial part of Missouri’s Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

“WIC serves millions of low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women and their young children,” said Cheryl Kennedy, Food and Nutrition Service Regional Administrator. “We recognize the hard work and effort that occurs at the State and local levels to provide this important benefit to all WIC participants, and the WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence celebrates local agencies that provide exemplary breastfeeding programs and support services.”

“The Missouri WIC program fully supports all mothers who would like to breastfeed,” said Lisa Schlientz, State Breastfeeding Coordinator with Missouri DHSS WIC and Nutrition Services. “We are proud of the extra efforts made by these two agencies to provide a full range of breastfeeding services to WIC participants who choose breastfeeding to provide a healthy start for their baby. This support empowers our Missouri moms and enables them to be successful.”

WIC agencies that have operated a peer counseling program for at least one year and meet all of the required core components of the WIC Breastfeeding Model for Peer Counseling, including recruiting and hiring from WIC’s target population, and being available to WIC clients outside usual clinic hours, are eligible to apply for the award.

The award program was established to recognize WIC local agencies that have provided exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities. Awards highlight successful models and encourage other local agencies to strengthen their breastfeeding promotion and support activities and ultimately increase breastfeeding initiation and duration rates among WIC participants. Awards are given at three levels of performance: Gold, Gold Premiere, and Gold Elite. Agencies are awarded for a four year period. With the addition of these 2 agencies, there are currently 21 local agencies that are awarded in Missouri.

The WIC Program serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, resources on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care. Missourians interested in learning about the benefits of WIC may visit wic.mo.gov or call TEL-LINK at 1-800-835-5465 to find the WIC local agency in their county.

Hearts in America Series

Date: August 4, 2022

Receive Free Support to Prevent Hypertension and Improve Blood Pressure Control

Hearts in America Initiative Begins August 10, 2022

The Health Quality Innovation Network (HQIN) invites you to be part of the HEARTS in America initiative, which launches on August 10. HEARTS, developed by the Pan America Health Organization (PAHO) and spearheaded globally by the World Health Organization, fosters the adoption of best practices in the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

As a HEARTS in America participant, you will receive: 

  • Access to live virtual Lunch-and-Learn sessions on the technical pillars of HEARTS in the Americas and opportunities for implementation within your organization.
  • Hypertension detection and treatment tools including the HEARTS in America Technical Package.
  • Individualized one-on-one support from HEARTS Advisors to develop streamlined treatment algorithms customized to your hypertension patient population.
  • AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ of .75 per live session.

Join medical leaders from other primary care practices, FQHCs, specialty practices and rural health clinics for the HEARTS in America launch on Wednesday, August 10th at 12:15 p.m. EST. 

Hear Donald DiPette, MD, FACP, FAHA, PAHO Advisor, Health Sciences Distinguished Professor and former Dean of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine introduce the initiative and explain how, through participating in HEARTS, you can improve your patients’ blood pressure rates and optimize your Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) payments

Register Now

Please note, there is no cost to participate in HEARTS.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact: questions@hqi.solutions

Missouri Ending the HIV Epidemic Community Forum

Date: August 3, 2022

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services invites you to attend the September Community Engagement Forum focused on Ending the HIV Epidemic in Missouri. Learn about the role that Disease Intervention Specialists play in linking people newly diagnosed to care and reengaging those previously diagnosed and their role in ending the HIV epidemic. Access registration by clicking here.

Forum Date: September 13, 2022

Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM