Our Women’s and Children’s Health team administers the AZ federal maternal Child Health Block Grant. This grant is authorized through Title V of the Social Security Act and has been in place since 1935. Every 5 years we look at the health and well-being of Arizona’s women and children and develop our top priorities based on identified needs. We’re getting ready for the next needs assessment which is due in 2015.
Of course- we’ll continue to prioritize infant mortality, prematurity, children with special health care needs, injury numbers, oral health and many more. We also want to find out from you if there are other things we should look into as well. Take a little time to review last year’s application and let us know what you think. Please send any comments to the chief of our Office of Assessment and Evaluation Dyanne Herrera at [email protected].
When will ADHS take on the problem of the increasing number of AZ babies born exposed to drugs and alcohol? Short term and long term results is and will continue to impact AZ.
This is an issue highlighted on ASTHO.org (http://www.astho.org/Prevention/NAS-Neonatal-Abstinence-Report/) as was the 39 weeks issue that AZ got involved in with great results.
Karen,
Thank you for taking the time to express your concern for Arizona’s substance exposed newborns. We have been working on this and will continue to because it is a growing problem. The Health Start Program, for instance, a home visiting program for at risk pregnant and postpartum women, has integrated prenatal screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other drugs with the women enrolled in the program. Since 2008, the Health Start Program has screened over 32,587 women for substance use and has provided brief intervention education and referrals to treatment services to those at risk. The other home visiting programs are taking this on as well, and substance exposed newborns will be a topic at the fall Strong Families Arizona home visiting conference. We also staff a Task Force on the Prevention of Prenatal Exposure of Alcohol and Other Drugs. This task force will drive the substance exposed newborn work that will be incorporated into the development of Arizona’s Improving Birth Outcomes plan. We are also part of Arizona’s Prescription Drug Misuse & Abuse Initiative, which incorporates multiple strategies such as provider and patient education and guidelines for clinicians prescribing controlled substances.
Please feel free to contact Mary Ellen Cunningham ([email protected]) of the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health for more information or further discussion on this important health concern.