Go Beyond MCH

USA Today's Editorial on Infant Mortality

2011-10-11T12:57:00.001-04:00

Support funding for prevention
USA TODAY's editorial on infant mortality was particularly well-timed. In September, a Senate committee approved a cut of $50 million to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, a program that provides the foundation for state efforts addressing infant mortality. Days later, a House proposal included the elimination of $350 million in support of voluntary home visits to expecting and new parents, as well as other maternal and child health programs.

These are not good signs for the health of our nation's most vulnerable: pregnant women and children.
We should not let debate about international rankings distract us from the fundamental question of why too many babies in America are dying before their first birthday, deaths that in many cases are preventable.
Yes, budgets are about hard choices. But should we cut funding for programs that support the very successes mentioned in your editorial? That's not a hard choice. That's a foolish choice. Federal, state and local public health agencies work daily to prevent infant mortality. Progress is possible.

Michael Frasier, CEO
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Washington, D.C.

HELP: Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Proposes $50 Million Cut to Title V MCH Block Grant

2011-09-21T13:24:00.002-04:00

We urgently need your help! As reported last evening, at 3:00 p.m. EST today (September 21) the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on a Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for FY 2012 that includes a $50 million cut to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant. This cut will affect every state and possibly every Title V SPRANS grant. AMCHP is exploring all options to minimize this cut. No new details have emerged other than the press release noted last evening. (Corrected link is http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=7f6ba191-8901-402e-86b2-27cd220d14d1.)

Elected officials need to hear from you NOW about the impact of this cut before they vote. If your Senator is on the Senate Appropriations Committee (listed below) we urge you to IMMEDIATELY call their office, ask for the staff person who handles health appropriations, and share the following message:

· I am deeply concerned that the LHHS appropriations bill begins deficit reduction by targeting Title V MCH programs serving pregnant women, infants and children with special health care needs. It seems highly unfair that a program representing less than one half percent of the entire bill is being asked to shoulder 16% of the total cuts.

· I want to make sure you understand that new resources in home visiting and teen pregnancy prevention should not and could not in any way backfill or supplant Title V Block Grant cuts. Services to children with special needs; newborn screening; and efforts to understand and address why more women are dying in childbirth and why African American babies are dying at double and triple the rate of white babies will be cut, and home visiting dollars will not make up that difference.

· If this cut goes forward hundreds of health professionals will lose their jobs within months. These are people working to protect and improve the health of pregnant women, babies, children, adolescents, and children with special health care needs.

· We ask that the committee reconsider why MCH is being asked to absorb nearly one sixth of this committee’s total budget cut and find a way to share deficit reduction more fairly.

As always, we remind you to comply with your state’s guidelines on advocacy. Please contact Joshua Brown or Brent Ewig at 202-775-0436 with any questions and to share any feedback you receive from Congressional offices.

Read entire AMCHP Notice

Cope the JJ Way

2011-09-20T10:26:00.000-04:00

Community Outreach Perinatal Education

COPE - The JJ Way®

A new training program is working to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes and to reduce disparities in perinatal health. The Community Outreach Perinatal Education program (COPE- The JJ Way®) combines practical doula, childbirth educator and lactation educator training that has the power to influence women, their babies, and their communities.

The JJ Way® is a Maternal Child Health (MCH) system developed by midwife Jennie Joseph with an over-arching goal to eliminate racial and class disparities and improve birth outcomes. COPE - The JJ Way® education provides ACCESS to perinatal education for paraprofessionals and professionals alike; creates CONNECTIONS between clients, staff, agencies and community; increases KNOWLEDGE about the impact of improved health on disparities; and EMPOWERS providers to excel in their service delivery by increasing job satisfaction and encouraging leadership.

The purpose of the Community Outreach Perinatal Education program is to improve and promote healthier outcomes for women and babies, and to reduce disparities in perinatal health. Participants that complete the program become Certified Perinatal Educators (CPE) through Joseph’s Florida licensed midwifery training program. They are then empowered to enter their communities and provide comprehensive perinatal education; support for pregnant women and their families; and breastfeeding education and intervention of breastfeeding problems.

The JJ Way® has proven successful. In a study conducted in 2007-2008, The JJ Way® clients were 42% less likely to have a preterm baby, 46% less likely to have a low birth weight baby, and 32% less likely to have a cesarean section in comparison to the averages for Orange County, Florida.

What is the JJ Way?#infantmortality Featured Guest

2011-09-19T12:13:00.001-04:00

The JJ Way® Model of Maternity Care

The goal of The JJ Way is to eliminate racial and class disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes for all. Key objectives of The JJ Way® are for pregnancies to reach a gestation of 37 weeks or greater and for newborns to have a birth weight of 5 lbs. 8 oz or greater, for women (and their families) to bond well to their babies and to start and succeed at breastfeeding. The JJ Way’s innovative model builds on the strengths of the Midwives Model of Care to reach a population that does not typically seek midwifery services.

The JJ Way in action at The Birth Place/ Easy Access clinic from Erika Rydell on Vimeo.

Essential Components of The JJ Way®

Freedom of Choice: Labor and delivery can take place in any location the woman feels most comfortable. We take the fear of unmedicated or out-of-hospital childbirth out of the equation. We work with our physician partners to ensure a smooth transition of care for women who prefer to birth at the hospital.
Self-Reliance: The mother participates as an equal partner, with knowledge presented at her level. We offer practical suggestions that support self- reliance. All along the way, we recognize and acknowledge the woman as completely capable of fulfilling the role of motherhood.
Each client carries her own mini-health chart -- our prenatal care passport card. Every visit, lab result, and appointment is logged, plus 24-hr contact and signs of premature labor. The client takes her passport card with her to any doctor visits and when she goes to the hospital in labor, helping to ensure continuity of care.
Easy Access: From the moment a pregnant woman enters the clinic, a team member greets her warmly. This immediate connection is a simple but critical part of the accessibility of the practice. No one is turned away, and this reputation in the community makes it easier for women to take the first step of entering the clinic. Once there, she has access to the entire staff team for questions, support and medical care. She will leave having had a prenatal exam and having established a maternity medical home.
Team Approach: Each staff member has a role to play, from the receptionist who greets each woman by name when she walks through the door, to the office manager who knows every client. Family members, the father of the baby, and friends are also brought in as part of the mother’s team. Together all members are engaged in the explicit goal of helping the mother achieve a healthy, full-term pregnancy.
Weekly staff meetings include every employee, and the team discusses each client. At staff meetings, everyone is kept informed about each client’s situation and is engaged in the case management process and plan. We then work to deliver consistent health messages and expectations.
A client often develops a bond with a particular staff member. We capitalize on that special connection by allowing that team member to play a larger role in delivering information and providing support, even if she is not in a medical role. Each team member always has the support and insight of the entire team.
Connection Creation: We work hard to promote prenatal bonding not only between mother and baby, but also with the father, siblings, extended family, friends, and clinic team members; our team approach builds the social capital of each woman, ensuring success beyond her pregnancy and delivery.
Gap Management: The team works together to identify any gaps or barriers the client is facing and begins 'gap management' triage. We then work to provide practical solutions based on the real life situation of each woman and engage all pertinent team players and outside resources in the process.
Education: We inspire knowledge through alternative approaches to teaching, with peer educators, and by making waiting room time learning time, often in groups with an informal, friendly feel, yet still thorough. Through our 'gap management' and team approach, we tailor educational messages and delivery approaches to the clients. Also, we focus on post-partum education, including providing breastfeeding support and family planning information. Knowing that short inter-pregnancy intervals are associated with low birth-weight and prematurity, we teach women the importance of letting their bodies rest between pregnancies and help them establish a plan for birth control.

The JJ Way® is a maternity model of care that is adaptable to any type of practice or provider including nurse-practitioners, physician assistants, and family practice doctors who wish to decrease health disparities, improve perinatal outcomes, and increase staff morale. Our staff members know they are making a difference in the lives of families and communities. Learn more about The JJ Way® here

Say Hello at the CityMatch Conference!

2011-09-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

The CityMatCH Conference is just around the corner. This year we will have our CEO, Allan Stamm, and Communications Director, Brittany Love, in attendance.

Make sure to stop by our booth and say hello - we will have exciting opportunities for you to participate in the National MCH Conversation!

Don't forget to follow our CityMatCH experience on Twitter -@gobeyondmch!

3 Reasons and 5 Ways for MCH Home Visitation Programs to Promote Parents' Health Literacy

2011-09-06T14:01:00.000-04:00

By Sandra Smith MPH, PhD of Beginnings Guides

Parental Health Literacy: The cognitive and social skills that determine the motivation and ability of parents to gain access to, understand, and use information and services in ways that promote and maintain their health and that of their children*. At Beginnings Guides and the Center for Health Literacy Promotion, we focus on functional health literacy, that is, what people actually do for personal and child health with the information and services available to them, or said another way, how people integrate health info and services into their daily lives.

Reason #1 Skills for effective parenting also are skills for health literacy. Literacy and health literacy are foundational to the goals of home visitation and to parents’ goals for their families. Conversely, low literacy and low health literacy are barriers to home visiting and family goals. Cognitive skills for health literacy are the 3Rs (reading, ‘riting and ’rithmatic), basic literacy skills needed to participate in society (e.g. employment, healthcare), utilize community resources, and promote school readiness. Social skills for health literacy are interaction and reflection. Home visitors will recognize these skills as the foundation for attachment and bonding and responsive parenting.

Way #1: Add local literacy enhancing services to your list of community partners. Consider adult basic education, English Language Learning, public library programs, GED programs, and tutoring services. Plan with them a collaborative process to refer parents speaker or teacher to help integrate health education into local literacy programs. Use the Beginnings Pregnancy Guide orParent’s Guide as curriculum to simultaneously address literacy/health literacy and health education. Or focus a session or series of sessions on the Key Messages.

Way #2 Identify parents with low literacy skills. You can use the ELF, a 3-question screen that produces a proxy REALM (Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine) score without a potentially embarrassing and alienating literacy test. Or use this 1- question screen: “How many books to you have?” Observation or self-report of owning 10 or more adult or child books indicates adequate literacy.

Way #3Learn to ask reflective questions. Reflective questions (RQs) or “Teaching by Asking” develops interactive and reflective skills – the social skills at the foundation of both health literacy and parenting. RQ’s require the parent to think about facts, events, behaviors; link to feelings, consequences, knowledge, experience; and formulate a positive, purposeful response.; in short, to Think, Link and Respond.

Reason #2 Home visitors’ usual efforts can promote health literacy. Health literacy is promoted through health education, skills development and direct assistance to use info and services for health. So, when visitors are equipped with knowledge of health literacy and some simple strategies, usual health education and skills development efforts to promote attachment and bonding, responsive parenting, and school readiness can also promote functional health literacy.

Way #4 Offer direct assistance to use info and services for health. This part may be new to home visitors. Training is available to help programs integrate assistance to make meaning from information and apply it in context into health education activities. This may be as simple as inviting the parent to read aloud and highlight a pertinent paragraph from Beginnings Guides and then talking about it together. Reading aloud takes learning deeper faster because it uses multiple senses. Or direct assistance might be reviewing with the parent materials obtained at a doctors’ visit, such as an appointment slip for the next visit. Ensure the parent can find the time and date; enter the appointment on a calendar. Then discuss what needs to happen to keep the appointment (transportation, childcare, time off work), and what questions s/he wants to ask the doctor.

Reason #3 Health literacy is used most often at home. Most health/medical information is digested, understood and applied (or not) at home in the context of family and everyday real life circumstances. While health literacy typically is discussed in the context of healthcare encounters and documents, most health-related decisions are made at home. Most medications and treatments are administered at home. Preventive actions and health promoting practices happen at home.

Home visitors’ unique access to families at home and trusting relationships built through frequent encounters (1 to 4 per month for 1-2 hours) over an extended period (6 to 36 months) position visitors to observe and influence the interaction of multiple factors that determine parents ability to manage personal and child health and healthcare – their functional health literacy. These factors are not readily visible in healthcare settings and are difficult to address in brief, often stressful episodic encounters.

Way # 5 Lead a reflective conversation to link info to experience Healthcare professionals appropriately focus on reducing barriers to effective use of health/medical information and services by improving information and provider-patient communication. Home visitors’ complement and leverage these systems-level efforts by directly assisting parents to personalize the information and use it to maintain or improve personal and family health.

Mary was given information about maternal depression at her son Ralph’s well baby checkup. She read it and understood the words, but did not connect the information to herself. A few days later, when Mary’s home visitor asked her about Ralph’s checkup, Mary showed her the depression info. The visitor had previously noted depressive symptoms in Mary and recognized a teachable moment. She engaged Mary in a reflective conversation around the information. She asked, “Have you experienced any of these signs of depression?” “Why do you think those feelings started when they did?” “How does the baby respond to you when you’re feeling so sad?” “What have you tried to feel better?”

Mary came to recognize her own depression and its impact on her child. She decided to take a daily walk with the baby to relieve stress, a “baby step” toward improving her health and supporting baby Ralph’s healthy development. Mary’s health literacy increased when, with the assistance of the home visitor, she was able to personalize the information, to see what it meant for her in her situation. Through interaction and reflection with the visitor, Mary linked the new information about depression to her own experience and her child’s behaviors, so the info became knowledge. She formulated a positive response, a health action that with the visitor’s ongoing support became a health-promoting practice. In the process, Mary gained knowledge and built her health literacy and parenting skills (interaction and reflection). She discovered herself as a problem solver and a health manager. She developed a deeper understanding of the concept of selfcare as a way to enhance her child’s health.

Mary’s home visitor gave no additional information; she gave no advice, offered no solutions. Rather, she asked a few reflective questions, stood by while Mary figured out for herself what she should do, and then supported her in doing it. The home visitor empowered Mary to use information and services to enhance health. That’s promoting functional health literacy.

Notes & References *Adapted from the definition of maternal health literacy in Renkert, S. & Nutbeam, D. (2001). Opportunities to improve maternal health literacy through ante-natal education: An exploratory study. Health Promotion International, 16, 381–388.

Stay tuned for more reasons and ways to promote health literacy in home visitation.

Davis, T.C., Crouch, M.A., Long, S.W., Jackson, R. H., Bates, P. George, R.B. & Bairnsfather,

L.E. (1991). Rapid assessment of literacy levels of adult primary care patients. Family Medicine, 23, 433-435.

Bennett, I.M., Robbins, S. & Haecker, T. (2003). Screening for low literacy among adult caregivers of pediatric patients. Family Medicine, 35, 585-590

Slade A, Grienenberger J, Bernbach E, Levy D & Locker A.( 2005). Maternal reflective functioning, attachment, and the transmission gap: a preliminary study.Attachment and Human Development

7(3):283-98. Wallace, L. S., Rogers, E. S., Roskos, S. E., Holiday, D. B. & Weiss, B. D. (2005).

Brief report: Screening items to identify patients with limited health literacy skills. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, 874–877.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: How Research Is Keeping Babies Safe

2011-09-06T12:02:00.002-04:00

News Release

The Coalition for the Life Sciences (CLS) cordially invites you to attend a briefing of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus on Sudden Infant Death: How Research Is Keeping Babies Safe on Wednesday, September 7, at 12 noon in Room B-340 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Bag lunches will be provided. Our distinguished speaker will be Dr. Hannah Kinney from Harvard Medical School.

Virtually all parents have placed a hand on their sleeping baby at one time or another to see if he or she is still breathing—in fear that the baby may die suddenly and inexplicably during sleep, in fear of what we call sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS.

The National Institute of Child Health and Development defines SIDS as the sudden death of an infant less than 1 year of age that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. SIDS is the leading cause of postneonatal infant mortality in the United States today. Approximately six SIDS deaths occur each day.

Dr. Kinney is a leading researcher studying the underlining causes of SIDS. Her research is testing the idea that SIDS, or a subset of SIDS, is due to a developmental brainstem defect in autonomic and/or respiratory control during sleep. The ultimate goals of the research are to define brainstem abnormalities in living infants and to suggest ways of preventing the abnormalities from leading to sudden infant death.

The Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus provides a forum where Members and staff can interact directly with preeminent researchers responsible for important scientific discoveries. Many of the stunning advances, made possible by NIH funding, highlighted in these presentations have led to improved understanding of the cause, treatment, and prevention of human disease.

We hope you will be able to attend this important briefing. Please RSVP to Lynn Marquis at the CLS at 301 347-9309 or clc@jscpp.org.

Video Interviews with Northeast Florida Healthy Start Leadership

2011-09-06T11:23:00.007-04:00

There are several factors that we have noticed are changing the way we as MCH professionals and information technology providers work together and address the landscape of infant mortality. New and better theories for approaching MCH as a whole have emerged, the way communities interact and share information has expanded and the need for more insightful information technology solutions has increased. We hope these changes are leading to more collaboration and higher standards for results in all communities. [Continue Reading]

General Overview of Services Provided by Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, Inc

How has FIMR Driven Your Intervention Strategy?

Overview of Infant Mortality Prevention Projects

Identifying Strategies and Tactics to Support Infant Mortality Prevention.

Infant Mortality Initiatives and Successes

Connect with Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition on Facebook!

Learn more about Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition and Leadership:

Carol Brady is the executive director of the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition which covers Jacksonville and four surrounding counties. She has served in this position nearly15 years. The Coalition is responsible for planning and funding services to address the maternal and child health care needs in northeast Florida. Ms. Brady led the development and implementation of the Magnolia and Azalea Projects which employ unique community-based approaches to addressing the needs of high-risk women and their families. She is a member of the CDC’s Select Panel on Preconception Health which developed recommendations to improve the health of women before pregnancy. She is a long-time volunteer with the Florida March of Dimes and currently serves on the state Program Services and Public Affairs Committees. She is a founding member of EveryWoman Florida and EveryWoman Southeast, state and regional initiatives to promote women’s health before and between pregnancy.

Rev. Tom Rodgers is a community volunteer who is past chair and a current member of the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, Inc. He has been involved with the organization for eight years and plays an active role in the group’s contracts/QI and advocacy committees. Rev. Rodgers chaired the 2009 Infant Mortality Study Implementation Task Force of the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. which successfully carried out recommendations resulting from a year-long citizen-directed study. A successful community and faith-based organizer, he leads Populous Engagement Resources, Inc. which provides advocacy, board and business development training. He serves as an assistant pastor of St. Matthew Baptist Church in Jacksonville. Rev. Rodgers is married with two children, one of whom was born low birthweight and now is a thriving eight year old!

#infantmortality Twitter Chat

2011-09-06T11:20:00.000-04:00

WHO:

The staff at Go Beyond MCH and all of YOU!

We will also have several fantastic guests contributing to the chat - more details will be coming your way next week!

WHAT:

A Twitter Chat on the topic of Infant Mortality.

Use #infantmortality on your tweets to join in the conversation.

WHERE:

Join from the comfort of your office, the road, or wherever you may be. Just log in to Twitter and you are ready to go!

WHEN:

Tuesday, September 27th

4:00pm - 5:00pm EST

WHY:

If you have never participated in a Twitter Chat then you may wonder the purpose or the value of joining the conversation. What we find to be so beneficial is that it is a quick, easy and open way to share your ideas, ask questions and meet new people who are interested in working towards the same goal as you!

**If you are working on an interesting project in the realm of infant mortality email us to join the chat as a featured guest!**

Social Media and Technology: How Our Roles are Changing #infantmortality

2011-09-06T11:02:00.004-04:00

Commentary by Go Beyond MCH

Interview with Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, Inc

In general, the way we view health as a profession and as a society has shifted from treating a symptom to treating root causes. This better understanding and acceptance of the factors that affect health emerged from the Life Course Perspective and continue to resonate within the MCH profession. We now recognize that causes of infant mortality are not simply derived from medical conditions but also from social factors and pressures, nutritional conditions and availability of resources to all populations. MCH professionals are now able to more efficiently develop preventative programs to meet the needs of the population, while the way in which we communicate with the community at risk and the way in which data is tracked has changed significantly.

There is now what seems like an infinite number of ways for a community to reach their targeted population. The emergence of social media, mobile marketing, blogging and more have created new, effective ways to reach at risk populations. These resources can be fairly inexpensive to implement and provide fantastic results as a tool for prevention and awareness. With this new media, though, comes a change in mindset and a need to develop a new skill set. We all have to adapt to this constant and transparent media and understanding that it is here to stay is the first step.

The next step is to brainstorm how this new media can be a research tool for our profession. We have all seen social media play a significant role in Egypt, the UK riots, and natural disasters. So how can we as MCH professionals think outside the box and use this media for issues like infant mortality? Can we monitor the overall health and sentiment of our communities via social media sites? One example is the CDC’s use of Twitter to monitor outbreaks, misconceptions and more via Twitter. Simply using hashtags and searches the CDC has been able to respond to public health issues with nearly instant turnaround time.

Once the communications and new media questions are answered there is then the question of how to effectively track and monitor each individual as they receive services from multiple programs. The information technology solution needs to be based on integrating multiple programs and users into one software solution modeled around the social model of Life Course. We have modeled our MCH software solutions on the social circles of a community and the created the ability for each individual’s care and case management to be tracked and monitored through multiple communities. This allows for a data output that takes into account the path of women, children and families through multiple social services programs.

We invite you to continue the conversation with us online and share your opinions and thoughts on changes affecting the way we as MCH professionals and information technology providers address #infantmortality. Start by watching our exclusive interview with Carol Brady, Executive Director of Northeast Florida Healthy Start, Inc, and Board Member, Reverend Tom Rodgers, as they share their experiences and successes in overcoming challenges and working towards their infant mortality goals. Videos can be viewed by visiting YouTube.com/GoBeyondMCH.

Interview with Dixie Morgese, Executive Director, Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler and Volusia, Florida

2011-08-16T11:06:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago we attended the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions training meetings. Lucky for us we were able to spend time with Dixie Morgese, the Executive Director of Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler Volusia. We have known Dixie for years and have continued to be inspired and awed by her dedication and contributions to her community and her organization.

We were able to film a short interview with Dixie and are excited to share some of the highlights with you. The Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler Volusia came to work with Go Beyond and use our Well Family System so they could meet their goals of not only providing the best resources to their community, but to be able to collaborate effectively among organizations and show the benefits of their work through data.

Take a moment from your busy day and have a glimpse into the program of Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler Volusia in the following three videos:

Interview with Dixie Morgese, Executive Director Healthy Start Flagler Volusia

Dixie Morgese answers how Go Beyond's Well Family System allows HSFV to create an impactful, interactive service system for women and families in their outreach community.

Dixie Morgese answers how Go Beyond's Well Family System allows HSFV to better track outcomes, collaborate and meet the needs of women, children and families in their outreach area.

Contribute to the Conversation During National Infant Mortality Month

2011-08-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

National Infant Mortality Month starts September 1st. We want to bring MCH professionals together to share their take on infant mortality.

What are the facts on infant mortality in your area? How do you and your peers work towards improving infant mortality? What ideas do you have for bringing professionals together?

Please email marketing@gobeyondmch.com to share your take on infant mortality in your community and/or in the US. We will feature you and your program in our e-newsletter, on our blog and on our social media sites!

CityMatCH Conference Just Around the Corner!

2011-08-16T09:59:00.004-04:00

Only a month away the CityMatCH conference is sure to be great. We are looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new people. One of the best aspects of this conference is the open sharing of new ideas, best practices and the willingness of attendees to talk about the hard stuff. Themed "Justice" this year the event promises to be informative, edgy and cutting-edge.

As always, a conference theme gets us thinking. CityMatCH mentions social, reproductive, environmental and economic justice as factors for women, children and families. We couldn't agree more that justice - or rather injustices - can change a woman's, a child's or a family's chance at survival, health, happiness, etc.

How do you see "justice" playout in your community. What factors are changing the outcomes of women, children and families in your community? How do you address these factors? How do you reach the women and families to help them through this? What could we do better in the future to eliminate injustice?

We would love for you to share your thoughts - from a quick comment on this blogpost to a great article we can share in our National MCH Conversation - please share your opinon and your knowledge! Comment below or email marketing@gobeyondmch.com to share!

MIECHV: Groundbreaking in the MCH and Family Health Information Technology Realm

2011-07-28T13:14:00.001-04:00

The MIECHV program concept is ground breaking in the MCH and family health information technology realm. The concept pioneers a new business model where a single information system is used to manage multiple and diverse independent programs that have their own systems, procedures and business processes. Most importantly, the new MIECHV program model requires a software solution that effectively captures relevant benchmarks and allows for continuous quality improvements and collaborations while staying within the budget restraints of the individual states.

Here at Go Beyond MCH we saw this coming. Our goal has been to create more advanced and intuitive technology solutions that are both effective and affordable for the public MCH sector. Every solutions provider is capable of taking on the MIECHV program and pushing and pulling data between systems. We, too, have been doing this for well over a decade. However, what is necessary of today's MIECHV software solutions is the ability to transcend beyond just systems integration. The software solution needs to contain a central system that is able to provide the same program management to all partners involved that is meaningful to the clients, families, communities and agencies.

How Well Family System works is actually based upon a social network - the way families, individuals, communities and programs all communicate and work together. In this model, a central data collection vehicle networks on the back end with an unlimited number of silo based organizational information systems to export out all of the information collected to the silos as if the sites under the central system were working on the silo system directly. It is important to note that Well Family system was created from scratch with this idea of a collaborative technology and business model in mind.

There is no precedent for this model. This is new territory specifically because this model extends beyond the normal exchange of information between systems. Because the central system now takes over the role of providing the work environment for its sites, the central site must now be capable of providing all of the tools necessary for these sites to effectively implement the business model of that program. The central system has to transcend beyond just systems integration. The central system has to be able to provide the same quality of program management to its sites that allows them to successfully implement the standards of the national program.

As always, we welcome the opportunity to share with you a full demo of Well Family System and help in any way possible as you move forward in the decision making process for your MIECHV program.

What We Learned at FAHSC!

2011-07-28T13:10:00.003-04:00

We are home from the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalition Summer Education and Training Meeting. The meeting took place the past three days in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and served as a fantastic training session for all involved.

Our most important takeaway was a reminder of why we guided our technology company in the direction of MCH. The work that all involved do on a daily basis is so important and goes so far in strengthening our communities. Our most important goal everyday is to provide the best possible information and technologies to the case managers and administrators so they can better serve the mothers, babies and communities around them.

The time we spent working with MomCare case managers was invaluable. We are not only inspired by their 10+ years of dedication to the program, but also use their feedback to continually improve our products. From our FIMR project management system, Basinet, to our web-based MCH program and case management system, Well Family, we understand that the ultimate benefactor is not necessarily the daily user of our products, but those they are able to help.

Thanks to all of you,

Allan Stamm

Jason Stamm

Go Beyond MCH

Follow #ONEMOMS Through Kenya!

2011-07-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

Please make sure to follow the #ONEMOMS initiative on Twitter. You can follow 10 Mom Bloggers as they travel through Kenya. If you visit the #ONEMOMS homepage you can also find links to each of the 10 Mom Bloggers! Their flickr photos are also a great way to get a glimpse at life in Kenya and what the 10 Mom Bloggers are experiencing.

Birthing Project USA

2011-07-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

Birthing Project USA is a resource center that provides technical assistance and support to communities around the globe by replicating a community-based model of improving birth outcomes.

The simple model of recruiting, training and supervising community volunteer "Sister Friends" to help at-risk pregnant women identify and access health care and other critical resources transcends geographic and ethnic boundaries. The program model has been replicated in 100 communities in seven countries, resulting in over 12,000 births in its 23 years of existence. The communities range from rural MS and urban Brooklyn, NY to the jungle of Tocomachu, Honduras and the villages of Mchinji, Malawi.

The model improves birth outcomes by connecting women to existing services. Encouraging integration of community volunteers in the US and traditional birth attendants in developing countries into the health services delivery system that is available promotes cooperation between the two to reduce the barriers of access, alienation and distrust on the part of pregnant mothers.

For example, Louisiana ranked at the bottom in the bottom three states in terms of birth outcomes prior to Hurricane Katrina. Birthing Project USA has been there since the hurricane assuring that the most at-risk pregnant women are connected to care and have guidance and support in health, nutrition and housing as well as education and direction regarding the environmental hazards posed by the lead, asbestos, Chinese dry wall and other harmful toxins that exist in their homes and yards. In Malawi, the project successfully recruits traditional birth attendants to serve as volunteer Sister Friends and assure that their pregnant mothers access prenatal care and deliver at the regional health center.

The Birthing Project effectively reduces infant mortality by training women from within the community to help their neighbors maximize existing services and to become valuable members of the health care delivery team by reducing the barriers that separate them from working together as a team.

Learn More About Birthing Project USA:

Visit Birthing Project USA
View the Project Description
View the First Year Report of the Malawi Project

Global Perspective of MCH Programs

2011-07-13T17:40:00.000-04:00

We are interested in maternal and child health programs across the globe and have compiled a short list of the programs or initiatives we are following on top of the Birthing Project USA.

Every Mother Counts

In her gripping directorial debut, Christy Turlington Burns shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, a post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United States.

Check out the blog post on Every Mother Counts Celebrating South Sudan's Independence.

ONE

ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Co-founded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African policy makers and activists.

Their role in maternal and child is to provide support by providing awareness. View their MCH webpage to learn more.

Go-MCH

Global Organization for Maternal & Child Health is a US-based 501c3 non-profit focusing on programs that improve the survival of women and children in impoverished communities through evidence-based strategies customized by medical and public health experts that work in the communities we serve. We work to develop local solutions that are culturally sensitive and embedded in quality monitoring and evaluation in our efforts to improve and sustain the survival of women and children.

Their blog covers a variety of topics within the realm of maternal and child health.

What programs do you follow closely for ideas and inspiration here at home in the USA or abroad? Share your favorites below.

Start the Conversation: Socioeconomic Factors and Pregnancy Health

2011-06-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

"Socioeconomic factors may stress pregnancy. According to (a woman's) circumstances, there may be need to worry," Nathanielsz said. "Society is pregnant, not (just) women. Women need to focus on a better diet and behavior patterns, (but) an enormous part of the story is the responsibility of men. The payoff will last a lifetime."

We came across an article, "Study Suggests Link Between Impaired Prenatal Diet, Diebetes," that reinforces the idea that preconception health and the health of a mother during pregnancy are of utmost importance.

What have you seen to be true in your community or region? Does your MCH program incorporate pregnancy health into the offerings for mothers?

Start the Conversation: Home Visiting Successes

2011-06-27T14:22:00.003-04:00

Many of you are probably involved in or aware of the the new updates and requirements to Home Visiting programs across the country. We have had the pleasure of working with several programs and have put our Well Family solution to work in their area.

We have seen the results of these programs from our end - more of the technical side - but AMCHP posed a great question on a broad level - "What is your most significant success in designing your updated state plan for home visiting?" Click HERE to answer their survey question and also comment below to start the conversation and share with MCH peers from across the US. Collaboration is key to all of our success and we hope you will be able to take a moment to share!

Start the Conversation: Mom Groups and Maternal Child Health

2011-06-27T14:14:00.003-04:00

We have closely been watching and admiring the work of "Mom Groups" that are growing online - a few of the examples you are probably familiar with are MomsRising.org and EveryMotherCounts.org.

Our question to you all today is have you incorporated or taken advantage of the mom advocacy networks to grow your MCH program's reach OR how could you become more invovled in these groups to offer more services or gain more support for your MCH program? Could these groups be a valuable partnership to our efforts in the MCH world?

This is a question we have been mulling over for a few months now and would love to see what you have to say.

Looking forward to your responses,
Go Beyond MCH

5 Ways to Contribute to the National MCH Conversation

2011-06-13T12:34:00.001-04:00

1. Embrace the Web 2.0

The first step in joining the MCH Conversation that is growing online is to remove preconceived notions of "social media." It is more than just constant updates about unnecessary information. It is a platform that can be harnessed and used to share a vast array of information. Social media is more than Facebook and Twitter - it is also e-newsletters and blogs that are informational and oftentimes written by knowledgeable leaders of a variety of industries. Together, these outlets form a wonderful and easy way to communicate with each other.

2. Join Go Beyond on Facebook and Twitter

Yes, you do need to join the popular platforms to participate. We suggest you do like we did - try it out first. Visit our Facebook page and become a fan. Follow us on Twitter, too. We have built our social media presence around sharing relevant and useful information for our peers and colleagues. We won't tell you what we had for lunch but we will share with you the latest MCH news and research on a national and global level. A one stop MCH shop, if you will.

3. Become a Guest Author

If you are new to social media or if you are an avid user the one fact that stands out is that an online community is only as strong as its users. We invite you to strengthen the national MCH conversation by sharing your knowledge. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to share best practices, ask questions, learn about similar programs and organizations, and yes, even highlight your program's achievements. Email marketing@gobeyondmch.com to begin contributing today - you can share material once or become a regular guest blogger and contributor to our e-newsletter! ...And research shows that 71% of bloggers reported increases in their organizations visibility as a direct result of their online industry-specific blog - grow your organization today!

4. Forward Relevant News and Research

Maybe you came across a great article or found a new piece of research that you haven't noticed on any of our platforms. Tell us! We welcome your help in finding the latest and greatest in our industry! Simply email us at marketing@gobeyondmch.com and we will distribute the news.

5. Share this with Your Peers

Reach out to your peers and colleagues and let them know about this national MCH conversation. Ask them to contribute their knowledge and share their ideas. You can forward them this email - it doesn't get any easier! You can also direct them to our Facebook page - we have a tab labeled "Join our Mailing List." Anyone who enters their email address on this tab is automatically entered into our database and will receive our e-newsletters.

Guest Author: Infant Massage USA

2011-06-01T09:59:00.001-04:00

Infant Massage in a Home Visiting Setting

With the help of MCH Professionals and Home Visitors, parents can learn Infant Massage techniques so they are able to better understand how their baby is communicating with them through behavioral states and cues.

When Parents learn to respond to their babies and introduce nurturing stroke techniques, they are empowered and begin developing a loving relationship with their baby. The added benefits for the baby are relaxing and sleeping better, reducing gas, constipation and colic and many other benefits. The parent's touch stimulates the release of hormones and endorphins that help the parent relax and bond with their baby.

A CEIM uses a doll to demonstrate to parents how to handle their baby, massage their baby and respond appropriately to their baby. With this method the MCH Professional builds the parents self esteem while nurturing a relationship with the parent. Conversations arise with topics to help support the bonding and attachment between the parent and baby.

Notes from the Field:

Directors of an Early Intervention Agency:

"Teaching families how to massage and nurture their babies helps us achieve our program's goals of enhancing parent infant interaction and promoting healthy growth and development. We saw immediate results with the improvement of bonding and parent-child interaction."

Head of an Early Intervention Agency:

"The course is a must-have for any professional working with infants or working with parents of infants . . . everyone should know this information."

Infant Massage Certification

Infant Massage USA provides a comprehensive certification training to prepare Certified Educators of Infant Massage to work with families who have the typically developing baby, a baby born premature, a baby with special needs, as well as adapting strokes for the growing child.

In addition to attending the 4 -day training, which includes 3 parent/baby classes, those becoming certified also complete a take home exam and practicum to complete their certification.

The Certification is recognized by Infant Massage USA as well as the International Association of Infant Massage with Headquarters in Sweden with chapters and representatives in over 50 countries around the world.

Infant Massage from a Global Perspective

Infant Massage is an ancient care-giving tradition that has been handed down from mother to daughter from the beginning of time. It has been reintroduced through the work of Vimala McClure who worked as a Peace Corp volunteer in India.

When she returned from India she introduced Infant Massage to families in Boulder, CO in the late 1970s. Word quickly spread and Audrey Downes encouraged Vimala to train others to teach parents.

By the 1980s people were coming from other countries to learn the techniques. In 1992 the International Association of Infant Massage headquarters was established in Sweden. The work continues to be introduced to more countries around the world.

Connect with Infant Massage

Message from AMCHP: MCH Opportunities with new Community Transformation Grants

2011-05-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

Last Friday the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of over $100 million in funding for up to 75 Community Transformation Grants. Created by the Affordable Care Act, this program provides funds to state and local governmental agencies, tribes and territories, and national and community-based organizations “for the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of evidence-based community preventive health activities to reduce chronic disease rates, prevent the development of secondary conditions, address health disparities, and develop a stronger evidence base for effective prevention programming."

The transformation grant guidance (available here) places an emphasis on chronic disease but specifies within that overall focus, states and communities “may also address additional areas of disease prevention and health promotion that will contribute to the overall goal of reducing chronic disease rates. These areas include adolescent health; arthritis and osteoporosis; cancer; diabetes; disabilities and secondary conditions; educational and community-based services; environmental health; HIV; injury and violence prevention; maternal, infant, and child health; mental health and mental disorders; health of older adults; oral health; and sexually transmitted diseases.” Many of these are focus areas for the shared work of your maternal and child health program and other programs in your state health agencies.

Considering the expected scarcity of resources in coming years, AMCHP wants to make sure state MCH programs are aware of this important opportunity and the breadth of eligible purposes. We specifically suggest those seeking resources for maternal, infant, and child health programs consider pursuing this opportunity in collaboration with your state chronic disease program colleagues. The combined focus on chronic disease and eligibility for MCH purposes may create a prime opportunity to advance preconception health goals.

Given the focus on evidence-based programming in this new grant program, AMCHP also encourages states to use another important CDC resource: the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide). The Community Guide (available here), supported by CDC, is designed to provide needed information to support state and community leaders as they decide on strategies, policies, and programs that are most relevant, effective, and cost-effective for their states, communities and enrolled populations. It is the only single source of all recommendations and findings of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (Task Force), an independent, non-federal, volunteer body of public health and prevention experts. It provides evidence-based recommendations and findings about public health interventions and policies to improve health and promote safety by including Task Force findings on 19 topics (e.g., adolescent health, oral health, injury prevention, birth defects, immunizations, nutrition and physical activity).

State and local government agencies, tribes and territories, and state and local non-profit organizations are eligible to apply for Community Transformation Grants. At least 20-percent of grant funds will be directed to rural and frontier areas. Applications are due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July 2011, with awards expected to be announced near the end of summer. The grants are expected to run for five years, with projects expanding their scope and reach over time as resources permit. A series of CDC conference calls are scheduled for potential applicants to learn more (schedules posted here.)

Visit AMCHP.org for more information

Meeting the Federal Requirements of CQI, Collaboration and Expansion when Choosing HV Program Software Solutions

2011-05-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

There are three key abilities required by the Federal Government in a data management solution for Home Visiting Programs. They are the ability to:

1. Drive Continuous Quality Improvement

2. Collaborate Among Multiple Local and State Programs

3. Expand as HV Requirements Change in the Future.

Click the Image Below to View a Slide Share Presentation Explaining How Well Family Meets the Above Objectives:

Watch the video below to learn more about

Well Family System:

Affordable Care Act, Home Visiting Programs, and the Well Family Soution

Please call 850.89.1754 to Arrange a Demo of Well Family System

Your Community. Many Programs and Needs. One Solution.

2011-05-03T09:20:00.000-04:00

Your community is undoubtedly operating many programs serving one goal: healthy, well-cared-for children and families. However, each program is more than likely not sharing a common method of communicating actions, results and data among the many programs. This can lead to a duplication of services, families not being provided with all of the services available, and an inability to properly analyze the data and return on investment of these programs.

This is where Well Family comes in. Well Family is synergistic and social in its functions - meaning you are able to have a mother "opt in" for services, direct that family to the appropriate program, track services, refer that family to other programs as needed, and in the end, monitor and analyze their needs over the years on an ongoing basis.

Well Family is a groundbreaking solution that allows many programs to operate from one Well Family license and harness the power of collective data on a community. Here are a few unique aspects of the Well Family System:

Open

Well Family is open to the consumer and allows them to self-refer. A mother can create a profile which directs her to the proper services in her area.

Connect

Well Family connects unlimited numbers of programs allowing users to contribute data, record services, and monitor results of a simple consumer across multiple services.

Collect

Well Family collects all of the service and data inputs across programs and allows all programs to be monitored effectively.

Analyze

The ability of Well Family to collect all of the data and service inputs across programs allows for a more accurate measurement of the results and return on investment of programs and their community outreach.

Share

Well Family, being built around the idea of a social network/community, allows users to refer consumers to any and all programs without a duplication or need to recreate a user profile and history.

For more information about our Well Family solution please give us a call today - 850.894.1754. You will be able to speak with Allan or Jason directly and review how Well Family meets and exceeds the suggested checklist from MDRC's webinar (slide 19).

Affordable Care Act (ACA), Home Visiting Programs, and the Well Family Solution

2011-04-22T16:40:00.001-04:00

MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social policy research organization, hosted an informative webinar on design options for maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting evaluation solutions. Go Beyond MCH was honored to be chosen as a recommended data management solution provider.

Take a moment to review the following videos as I answer your frequently asked questions about Well Family as a solution for Home Visiting data management:

Well Family System is known for its innovation as a collaboration program and case management for maternal child and family health. What are its capabilities for home visiting programs?

An Interview with Allan Stamm - Home Visiting Programs and Well Family

Does Well Family work as a solution for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program?

An Interview with Allan Stamm - Affordable Care Act and Well Family

If Well Family is used as the information and management system for an ACA home visiting program will all of the collaborative features available?

An Interview with Allan Stamm - Collaborative Features of Well Family for ACA Home Visiting Programs

For more information about our Well Family solution please give me a call today - 850.894.1754. You will be able to speak with me directly and review how Well Family meets and exceeds the suggested checklist from MDRC's webinar (slide 19).

Child Abuse Awareness Month Resources for Your Community

2011-04-14T10:52:00.001-04:00

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month and a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect. Working together, we can create strong communities that provide important support for children and families. Here are a few resources to share the message in your community:

National Child Abuse Prevention Month Resources

2011-04-14T10:48:00.001-04:00

Realityworks, Inc

Realityworks develops experiential learning tools that change lives. Interactive infant simulators bring the power of real-life experience to home visits, prenatal classes, and more.

Their products have been used around the world for more than a decade to improve and enhance social, emotional, and physical health through the use of interactive technology.

Their child abuse prevention tools include:

Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator

This life-sized electronic simulator cries inconsolably, as real infants sometimes do. When shaken, the crying stops abruptly. A see-through vinyl head reveals LED lights that indicate the damaged areas of the brain in real time as shaking continues and permanent brain damage occurs.

What Happens During a Shaking?
Pledge Not to Shake
Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator Success Story

Dr. Neil Kanterman Segment on Shaken Baby Syndrome

Share your Resources by posting to the National MCH Conversation on

and

Contributing to the National MCH Conversation

2011-03-30T21:20:00.004-04:00

Our ultimate goal of creating an online network where "MCHers" can come together to learn from successes, to share ideas, to help each other solve problems, and to build relationships is realized more each day. Both private and public organizations have contributed meaningful content and the coming months look even brighter.

We want to invite you all to contribute content and share with a network of over 600 MCH professionals. From webinars, to research findings, to best practices, to simply asking questions - these are all ways to connect. Here are some simple ways you can become involved today:

Share the e-newsletter with Colleagues

Comment and Retweet on Facebook and Twitter

Follow the National MCH Conversation Blog and Comment on Posts

Share the videos on our YouTube Channel

Contribute a Blog Post Sharing Your Organization's Mission

Share Links and Videos from Your Organization on Facebook and Twitter

As we look forward to the future we will be building and growing the National MCH Conversation. A special thanks to AMCHP for their continued support and contributions to making this national MCH conversation a reality!

If you have more questions or want to find out how you can help, email us: marketing@gobeyondmch.com. Thanks!

Affordable Care Act Resource from AMCHP

2011-03-24T11:10:00.004-04:00

One year ago today President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. Today marks the first anniversary of the law designed to expand access, enhance coverage and benefits, invest in prevention and wellness, and improve quality.

During the past year, AMCHP worked to meet member’s needs for objective information; share timely notice of federal implementation actions; and produce analysis of the myriad options, opportunities and challenges facing state MCH programs and public health agencies. We also advocated to support the leadership areas where state MCH programs have a key role such as assuring services for children with special health care needs, promoting home visiting, building integrated systems and assuring quality. To organize this work, AMCHP created a National Center for Health Reform Implementation that serves as your central point of contact on all things health reform. The purpose of this Center is to provide state maternal and child health leaders and their partners with the information, tools and resources to optimize the opportunities presented by the ACA for improving services, systems, and health outcomes for MCH populations.

For up-to-date information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act visit AMCHP’s National Center for Health Reform Implementation where you will find links to our summary of MCH-related provisions implementation status; a list of AMCHP’s comments on various ACA initiatives, an excerpt of the new sections of Title V created by the law – including the $1.5 billion home visiting grant program and the $375 million Personal Responsibility Education grants; and other resources.

Finally, in case you missed it, please take a moment to read our most recent Pulse publication focused on the first anniversary of ACA.

Passing Along AMCHP's Legislative Alert Re: Title V

2011-03-07T17:10:00.002-05:00

Monday, March 7, 2011
Washington, DC

Dear Brittany,

Late Friday the Senate Appropriations Committee released highlights of their version of a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund government operations for the remaining seven months of this fiscal year.

The Senate's proposed CR is $51 billion below the President's fiscal year 2011 request but AMCHP is pleased to report that the Senate bill does not contain many of the cuts to maternal and child health and other critical health programs that were included in the House passed continuing resolution HR 1.

The Senate version includes $662 million for the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant. This would restore the $50 million reduction approved by the House. The proposal also fully restores $1 billion for community health centers, $327 million for Title X Family Planning Grants, $114 million for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, $27 million for poison control centers, and $919 million in House passed cuts to CDC. It also removes the series of amendments passed by the House that would block funding provided by the Affordable Care Act.

Negotiations are underway now to determine if common ground can be found between the House and Senate CR versions before the current stop gap measure expires on March 18. Votes are possible in the Senate this week on both H.R. 1 and the newly introduced Senate CR.

It is difficult to predict at this point if and how the current impasse will be resolved. There is still the potential for negotiated cuts to health programs this year, as well as a possible government shutdown if a compromise is not found. AMCHP greatly appreciates your advocacy to educate elected officials on the impact of the proposed cuts on MCH populations in your states and communities. It is clearly making a difference.

For more information, please contact any AMCHP Policy Team member at (202) 775-0436.

FACCM 2011 Conference: The Business of Childcare

2011-03-01T10:40:00.002-05:00

Workships Focusing on the Business of Child Care

Up to Date Legislative News

Networking with Industry Professionals

State and Nationally Recognized Keynote Speakers

Find out more about the conference.

Healthy Start 2011 Annual Conference

2011-03-01T10:37:00.001-05:00

In 2011, NHSA will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Healthy Start. For two decades Healthy Start projects across the nation have worked to provide tools for their communities to ensure that all families, regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race or cultural background, have the best chance at a healthy life.

Follow us during the conference on Twitter by using #NHSA

Find out more about the conference.

Connecting MCH Professionals

2011-03-01T10:32:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all of you who had the opportunity to attend the 2011 AMCHP Conference in D.C. This year's Conference was a great success, largely because you were with us and here to share your work and network with colleagues. It is inspiring to hear how the work you do has such an incredible impact in states and communities nationwide.

The theme of "working together" was built into every aspect of the conference. Our MCH field is facing incredible challenges and opportunities and it is only by working together that we will reach our goals of improving the health of women, children, and families across the country. We tried some new ways of "working together" at AMCHP 2011, including the introduction of Knowledge Cafes and the use of social media to connect with peers.

The Knowledge Cafes were highly interactive roundtables that took place over breakfast. We offered a broad range of topics for the roundtables to explore with their colleagues. This enabled attendees to participate in a dialogue around best practices with fellow MCH professionals in similar situations. Topics that were most active included funding, home visiting, and life course perspective, just to name a few.

Another new addition to this year's conference was the use of social media. AMCHP and Go Beyond MCH teamed up to create a way for attendees to "work together" at the Conference with each other, and with colleagues not in attendance. The social network of choice was Twitter.

Everyone used #AMCHP11 on their tweets which allowed for an easy way to engage in a conversation about what was happening at the Conference, what the hot topics were and what was on people's minds. Participants shared highlights from poster sessions, knowledge café discussions and one on one conversations with MCH leaders.

What we all learned from our social networking experiment is that we are all better when we share information, and work together. Social networking is a medium for this sharing. When we connect with one another via Facebook and Twitter, we are able to discuss issues and concerns in real time.

Imagine how much learning we could assemble if we all committed to joining this effort and creating a national MCH conversation! It would be a powerful dialogue about how we can move forward together, facing the challenges of a tough economic climate and increasingly divided political process.

Please join Go Beyond MCH in making this conversation active and relevant. Click the links below and begin participating today. You can start small - I did. I joined Twitter for the conference and am now using this as a tool to reach MCH professionals across the country. Thanks for giving it a try, and "see you" on-line!

Mike Frasier, PhD, CAE

Chief Executive Officer, AMCHP

Passing Along AMCHP's Legislative Alert: House to Vote on Cuts to Title V

2011-02-10T15:58:00.003-05:00

Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Washington, DC

Today House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) released initial details of a House proposal (available here) to revise the current continuing resolution (CR) that would fund federal government through the rest of the fiscal year. The proposal includes a $210 million cut to the Title V Maternal & Child Health Block Grant and is expected to be voted on in the House early next week. It is absolutely imperative that your Members of Congress hear from you today about how devastating this cut would be to the maternal and child health and children with special health care needs programs in your state.

AMCHP urges all members and friends to call your elected officials NOW with the following message:

· I am calling in strong opposition to the proposed $210 million cut to the Title V MCH Block Grant included in the revised House continuing resolution. $210 million is a 32% cut to an effective, important, and vital program in our state.

· Cuts this deep will devastate state and local programs serving women, babies, children, and children with special health care needs in our state.

· This cut is counter-productive because health issues that we don’t prevent or detect early through this program now will ultimately cost us all more later. For example, the average cost of a premature baby is $58,000 - it makes no sense to cut programs that work to prevent maternal and child health issues like prematurity that will save us money in the future.

· Please tell (Your Representative’s/Senator’s name) that we should not balance the budget on the backs of babies and our nation’s most vulnerable.

Members of Congress need to hear from you today. They listen to constituents and it is imperative they know how these cuts will impact mothers and children in their jurisdictions. Therefore, in accordance with your organization’s advocacy rules, AMCHP urges you to contact your elected officials now. AMCHP also asks that you share this email with all MCH advocates in your state and urge them to also contact their Members of Congress.

Your efforts to reach Members of Congress will be critical to preventing deep cuts to MCH programs in FY 2011. Please share any feedback you receive with AMCHP staff about your contacts as this will be helpful as we continue our advocacy efforts on your behalf. For more information or to share feedback please contact Joshua Brown (jrbown@amchp.org) or Brent Ewig (bewig@amchp.org) via email or at (202) 775-0436.

Need helping finding your Representative’s or Senator’s Phone Number?

To find your senators' and representatives' phone numbers, use this searchable online congressional directory or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your senators' and/or representative's office. Ask to speak with the aide who handles health issues and leave a voice mail if you cannot reach them directly. While the urgency of the situation requires immediate phone calls, you may want to follow-up with an email or fax to reiterate your point. You can find email addresses and fax numbers at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. First priority is to contact members of the House of Representatives as they will vote first, and we also urge you to call your state’s two Senators to share your views with them as well.

BASINET FIMR and MCH-Family Health Information Systems to be Merged

2011-02-08T10:30:00.001-05:00

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. January 25^th, 2011 – Go Beyond MCH announced today that it is merging the BASINET and Well Family information systems into a single collaborative. The integration of these two systems is a major milestone in the development of a smart, next generation program that facilitates a “big picture” view of individual and family needs as an on-going family-centered process.

“The merger of the two systems dramatically enhances the ability for an MCH program to immediately see the status and potential risks of women who may need special attention because of their maternal history”, stated Allan Stamm, CEO of Go Beyond MCH. The new Well Family collaboration facilitates medical, dental, family planning, immunization and other important information that can integrate with medical records and personal health and social services information.

Stamm explains, “While MCH programs use Well Family to collaborate the processes and monitor risk factors prevalent through child bearing years, BASINET adds the ability to include fetal-infant deaths as part of the ongoing history without having to work in double data entry environment. Overall this creates a consistent ongoing historical record from one system.”

Well Family System (WFS) is a maternal child and family health program case management system. WFS is designed so that a single program can stand alone or coexist with other programs while providing uniform processes such as common intake paths, management of complex family situations, common family support plans and uniform assessments. WFS provides an environment where duplication of services can be greatly reduced, individual programs can focus directly on their specific delivery requirements but collaborate with other programs so that there are no gaps in service or attention to the individual needs of a client or their family within and across multiple community programs.

BASINET is a fetal and infant mortality program-project management system based on the Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) program and is used in several local and statewide FIMR programs. Over the years that Go Beyond MCH has provided BASINET to participating programs many of them have extended the use of the system to all of their fetal and infant deaths. Recently with the development of the process to directly populate BASINET with records from a state’s vital statistics and requests from several BASINET and Well Family System programs to allow the entry of fetal-infant death information in other ways, Go Beyond made the decision to combine the two systems.

GO BEYOND is an award winning, nationally recognized information and technology company that combines innovation with collaboration in order to develop solutions that strategically align the efforts and goals of maternal child and family health programs. We understand, advocate, and support the mission of our clients and the MCH industry as a whole. For more information go to http://gobeyondmch.com.

# # #

If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Go Beyond MCH, please call Allan Stamm at 850-894-1754 or e-mail Marketing@GoBeyondMCH.com

Passing Along AMCHP's Legislative Alert

2011-02-04T17:16:00.003-05:00

Another key step in the process to finalize the FY 2011 Appropriations occurred yesterday when the House Budget Committee released its revised top-line FY 2011 spending allocations for the Appropriations Committee to use when setting spending levels for agencies and programs. Overall, it sets non-security discretionary spending level (which includes HRSA, CDC and other HHS agencies) at $420 billion, $43 billion less than the current CR (FY2010 level). These spending caps will apply to a revised Continuing Resolution that House leaders are developing to be voted on the week of February 14.

While the overall allocation does not yet specify the level of expected cuts to individual programs such as the Title V MCH Block Grant, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) released a statement yesterday saying, “I am instructing each of the twelve Appropriations subcommittees to produce specific, substantive and comprehensive spending cuts. We are going to go line by line to weed out and eliminate unnecessary, wasteful, or excess spending – and produce legislation that will represent the largest series of spending reductions in the history of Congress. These cuts will not be easy, they will be broad and deep, they will affect every Congressional district, but they are necessary and long overdue.” His full statement is here.

The reference to “going line by line” indicates that we perhaps should not expect across the board cuts, but rather see some agencies and programs spared cuts while others are targeted for drastic cuts and possibly program eliminations. To this end, AMCHP is closely monitoring a proposal put forward by Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-MN) that calls for the elimination of the Title V MCH Block Grant, Title X Family Planning Grants, National Health Service Corps and other health programs. AMCHP stands ready to mobilize action if an urgent effort if needed to educate policymakers on the drastic consequences of such an action. We continue to advocate on the impact of expected cuts to Title V with a message of why they provide short term savings but serious long term costs.

What’s Next? The House Appropriations Committee plans to releases a revised CR next week which should identify where specific cuts will come with an initial vote slated for the week of February 14. That would provide approximately two weeks to allow negotiations to seek agreement on a final package with the U.S. Senate before the current CR expires on March 4. AMCHP thanks those Title V leaders who have already helped us develop potential impact statements and greatly appreciates your support to help us make our case. We will keep you informed as this saga continues.

Talk It Up! #AMCHP11

2011-02-01T17:28:00.000-05:00

We are recruiting attendees to join our Twitter Team!

Are you excited to experience the AMCHP Conference in a whole new way? Are you looking for a way to increase networking opportunities for yourself and your organization while at the AMCHP Conference? If your answers are yes then we know just how you can do this!

Become a member of our Talk It Up Team!

Simply share your favorite moments from each session you attend in real-time using Twitter. You will naturally build credibility among conference attendees by sharing your knowledge and positive thoughts.

We ask everyone to take part in this initiative as sharing best practices, highlights, and knowledge will continue to make our industry stronger.

Working Together is the theme of this year's conference and we hope you all will be able to have that opportunity through our social media tools.

Please email us for more information about joining our Twitter Team! We are recruiting a group of attendees who are interested in sharing their thoughts throughout the entire conference!

Talk It Up!

#AMCHP11

A Message from AMCHP's CEO, Mike Fraser, PhD, CAE

2011-02-01T17:24:00.001-05:00

The 2011 AMCHP Conference provides state-of-the-art information and cutting-edge presentations related to maternal and child health. I hope you are able to take advantage of the learning, networking, and sharing that will take place February 12^th - 15^th, 2011 in Washington D.C. This year's conference will challenge us, force us to think differently about what we do, and inspire us.

Working together with Go Beyond MCH, AMCHP will bring you the following tools and opportunities:

Exclusive Twitter Meet Ups and Interviews with Distinguished Attendees

We are dedicated to bringing you the opportunity to learn and share best practices while at the conference. We have worked to secure interviews with several industry leaders discussing their best practices, organizational focus, and speak to the challenges facing the MCH industry as a whole. Use #AMCHP11 on Twitter throughout the conference to participate!

Highlights from Plenary Sessions

You can't be everywhere at one time, and this year more than ever you will want to be! We have a conference schedule filled with valuable skill building sessions, workshops, power sessions, and knowledge cafés. So that you have the best experience possible, we will have a volunteer team of attendees dedicated to each of the tracks - from adolescent health to youth in transition - sharing the highlights from each sessions using #AMCHP11 on Twitter.

Create Networking Opportunities

Use #AMCHP11 to find individuals attending the conference that are like-minded and working towards the same goals as you and your organization. Organize your own meet ups during the added networking time we have created in the conference schedule. You can view all the opportunities in our conference program.

We encourage you to participate, work together during the conference and form relationships that will benefit you in the future. If you are unable to attend this year's conference you can still follow the conference happenings on Twitter using #AMCHP11. Stay tuned after the AMCHP 2011 Conference as we will continue to work together to bring you best practices, research, and highlights from the leaders in our field.

Michael R. Fraser, PhD, CAE
Chief Executive Officer, AMCHP

2 New AMCHP Conference Opportunities

2011-01-26T21:08:00.000-05:00

New This Year at the Annual Conference

Knowledge Café: AMCHP is exploring a new session design - replacing the Roundtable sessions with a Knowledge Cafe! What is a knowledge cafe? Quite simply, it's a method of bringing a group of people together to have an open, creative conversation on a topic of mutual interest to share their collective knowledge, ideas and insights and to gain a deeper understanding of the subject and the issues involved. This year's AMCHP conference will host 10 hot MCH topics! So, make sure to rise and shine early on Monday morning - the first round of dialogue starts bright and early at 7:15 a.m. - and be ready to share your knowledge and insights with your peers. Look for a list of topics coming your way soon. Breakfast will be served at 7 a.m.
Power Sessions: In addition to skills-building sessions and workshops, power sessions provide you with more valuable content! In order to offer you an even greater selection of educational opportunities this year, AMCHP is introducing power sessions — condensed 40-minute workshops that will explore more focused topics than full-length workshops. Altogether, more than 80 skills-building sessions, power sessions, workshops and roundtables will address a broad range of topics related to MCH practice. Hear from expert colleagues and peers about the issues of most concern to you and learn what will have an impact on your MCH programs. A complete listing of conference sessions is available online.

AMCHP and Go Beyond MCH Social Media Partnership

2011-01-26T20:56:00.001-05:00

This article was featured in the latest AMCHP Conference Update:

AMCHP and Go Beyond MCH have partnered to bring you engaging conversation, constructive networking, and real-time content before, during and after the 2011 AMCHP & Family Voices National Conference. Visit http://www.gobeyondmch.blogspot.com and sign up to receive further details in our bi-weekly e-newsletter. You can also follow all conference happenings and join exclusive meet ups with industry leaders by using #AMCHP11 on Twitter!

Learn More About FACCM

2011-01-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

Florida Association for Child Care Management (FACCM) is the leader in building and protecting a vibrant, professional childcare industry in Florida. FACCM works on behalf of child care education center owners across the state of Florida to ensure that their perspective is considered when regulations are set, legislation is proposed and initiatives begin.

FACCM members include more than 1,000 preschool owners. This means that we are caring for and educating over 131,000 young children and interacting with over 100,000 working households on a daily basis. FACCM has 772 of their member schools offering voluntary pre-kindergarten and over 75% of our members operate nationally accredited preschools.

FACCM is committed to helping members protect and build their business so that they can continue to provide quality care and education to the children and working families in their communities.

To achieve our mission, we know that it takes a community of child advocates to work together to provide quality early child care and education for the children of Florida. Each partner and agency has a unique part - and FACCM's place is to assist our members in becoming strong, vibrant businessess. We know that sound business practices that support effective management of revenue minimizes financial stress, which in turn affords center owners the energy and resources to invest in providing quality services.

For more information on FACCM click HERE to visit their website

A New Partnership in Innovation

2011-01-17T08:35:00.001-05:00

Here at Go Beyond we are dedicated to innovation so that companies and organizations can more effectively engage their clients, analyze their data, and operate efficiently. We are so pleased to announce that our newest partner, Florida Association of Child Care Management (FACCM) is equally dedicated to innovating their methods.

FACCM, whose clients are child care center owners throughout the state of Florida, came to us in order to create a way to host member profiles, track training and accreditation, and create a way to prospect member needs beyond basic accreditation.

While we are proud to have built the tools that meet the needs of FACCM, we are much more excited to announce that Lisa Olds, Executive Director of FACCM, has offered her knowledge and resources to our national conversation.

Lisa Olds, whose professional background includes many years working with Healthy Start programs, is dedicated to providing the tools to child care providers that are necessary to make a difference in the lives of young children. Lisa will be an invaluable resource to our industry wide conversation as she shares research and experiences with us each month.

Stay tuned as we continue to bring you more valuable content and resources, including Lisa's first article as a guest author!

Best Regards,
Allan Stamm

4 Ways to Use Twitter at the 2011 AMCHP Conference

2011-01-13T00:45:00.001-05:00

1. Join Twitter

First things first, you need to have a user name on Twitter. Visit Twitter.com and create your profile today - it only takes a few moments. Make your user name fairly simple. Ours is GOBeyondMCH, pretty easy for people to remember when they are looking for us, right?

2. Download Twitter App on Smartphone

Downloading a Twitter App on your smartphone will allow you to easily access Twitter when you are on the go at the conference. Visit the app store on your phone and search "Twitter." Several options will pop up - definitely choose a free app - there is no reason to pay unless you are going to use advanced features.

3. Use #AMCHP11 in your Tweets

If you are familiar with Twitter, this is self explanatory. If you are newer to Twitter we will explain. A hashtag (#) is basically a tag for your post. You can search any hashtag and find out what people are saying on the topic. Using #AMCHP11 on your tweets during the conference will allow other attendees to easily find your tweets, begin conversations, and you will stay up to date on what's going on!

4. Get Ready for a Twitter Meet Up!

We at Go Beyond have teamed up with AMCHP to bring all conference attendees a wonderful experience using social media. We will organize Twitter Meet Ups with industry leaders and announce them through Twitter as the conference progresses. Stay up to date on the time and location by searching and viewing the tweets with #AMCHP11. You can also follow us on Twitter and we will be sharing the information as well!

Setting Your Privacy on Facebook

2011-01-11T14:25:00.001-05:00

We have had a few inquiries regarding privacy on Facebook - here is the simplest way to engage online and protect your personal profile.

1. Log in to Facebook

2. Click "Account" on the top right of the window and select "Privacy Settings"

3. You will see "Sharing on Facebook" towards the left.

5. Select "Friends Only" and "Apply these Settings"

This is the safest privacy setting. Only your friends will be able to access your pictures, see your wall posts, etc.

If you have questions or need further help you can email marketing@gobeyondmch.com
and we will be happy to help!

See you online!

3 Reasons to Attend the 2011 AMCHP and Family Voices Conference!

2011-01-11T14:20:00.001-05:00

1. Build Your Resources

The value of building relationships with peers and industry leaders is priceless. You will, without doubt, build business relationships, make contacts, and develop friendships The year ahead is full of changes - from healthcare reform and funding issues to advancements in technology and research - having a back pocket filled with contacts will serve you and your organization for years to come!

2. Continuing Education

We cannot achieve the results we need and want in our industry if we do not continue learning and building our knowledge. The AMCHP Conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best in the field. Visit the AMCHP website for a full listing of breakout sessions.

3. Best Practices

The opportunity to gather with like minded individuals and discuss problems, achievements, best practices and the industry as whole is our favorite aspect of the conference. It is only a few times each year when we truly are in the same space as hundreds of other people who care just as much as we do.

Each year we learn, share ideas, and are inspired by the AMCHP Conference. We expect this year to be just as great, if not better, than the years past and we hope you will be there to share with us your achievements and best practices!

Still need more convincing?
Click HERE to read a letter from Michael R. Fraser, PhD, CEO of AMCHP. You will have to attend after you read this!

5 Ways to Join the National MCH Conversation

2011-01-11T14:16:00.001-05:00

1. Embrace the Web 2.0

2. Join Go Beyond on Facebook and Twitter

3. Become a Guest Author

4. Forward Relevant News and Research

5. Share this with Your Peers

Passing Along AMCHP's Legislative Alert: Tracking Potential Threats to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant

2011-01-06T16:56:00.007-05:00

Memorandum

To: AMCHP Members

From: Michael Fraser, Chief Executive Officer

Date: January 6, 2011

Re: Tracking Potential Threats to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant

As your eyes and ears in Washington, AMCHP is closely tracking how the new leadership of the 112^th Congress plans to address support for the Title V MCH Block Grant and other health programs. As many of you know, priorities for the new House leadership include repeal of the Affordable Care Act, significant cuts to Federal spending, suspension of certain Federal regulations, and the creation of new jobs.

In the spirit of keeping you informed I wanted to call all AMCHP members’ attention to a front page story in the January 4th New York Times reporting on how the majority leaders in the House of Representatives are swiftly moving to fulfill their party’s promise to cut at least $100 billion in domestic spending this year.

The Times story states that while Members of Congress have yet to specify which programs they plan to trim or eliminate a report published by the Heritage Foundation may be used as a framework for potential cuts that would achieve $343 billion in reductions. Of particular concern is the fact that the Heritage Foundation report suggests eliminating the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant as one of eight recommended health programs to cut. Also included in this report are Title X Family Planning grants, health professions grants, the National Health Service Corps, and rural health grants. A copy of the Heritage Foundation report is available here.

While AMCHP is very troubled by the suggestion that the Title V MCH Block Grant could be cut or eliminated to reach Federal budget reduction targets, it is important to note that the Heritage Foundation report is just that – a report with proposed cuts from a non-official, non-governmental organization. I want to stress that the recommendations of the report have not appeared in any proposed piece of federal legislation. However I am very concerned that Members of the House Labor HHS Appropriations Committee which sets Title V funding levels could potentially use the Heritage Foundation report as a framework or blueprint for legislation to enact cuts to the fiscal year 2011 budget.

AMCHP recognizes that this is a delicate situation and we are trying to strike a balance between preparing for a potential public response to proposed elimination or cuts to Title V while not wanting to bring additional attention to the report so as to legitimate its recommendations. We are therefore working quietly now to share our concerns with the report’s author and our partners and considering strategies to address potential proposed cuts to Title V with key stakeholders both within the Administration, members of Congress and with the staff of the national associations representing the other health programs included in the report.

I do not want to appear overly alarmist but do feel obligated to share the potentially worst case scenario that federal budget reductions put forward may call for an elimination of the Title V MCH Block Grant. While I do not know for sure how this will play out, considering the overall depth of cuts that have been promised I am very concerned that inclusion of the Title V MCH Block Grant on even a non-official list of programs for elimination crystallizes the challenges we will face in advocating for Title V funding in the coming year.

We are therefore taking the following actions to address this issue:

· Sharing information on this development with the AMCHP membership and key stakeholders, including ASTHO and other Friends of Title V.

· Closely monitoring the pick-up of the Heritage Foundation report to see if it is incorporated into any federal legislation. We do not plan to issue any immediate response to the report that would legitimize or unduly highlight the proposal. We are attempting to speak with the report’s author to better understand the thinking behind including the Title V MCH Block Grant in the report.

· Preparing materials to share widely as part of an AMCHP Action Alert if we determine that a broad, public defense of Title V is warranted.

As we monitor these developments here are four suggestions for all AMCHP members:

· Please plan to visit your elected officials’ office here in Washington in conjunction with the upcoming AMCHP Annual Conference, in accordance with your state’s rules on advocacy. Now more than any other time, Congressional leadership must hear about the importance of the Title V MCH block grant. We have time set aside for Hill visits during the AMCHP Conference on the afternoon of February 15. Please note we also have two upcoming advocacy training teleconference planned for February 1 at 3 p.m. EST and on February 2 at 3 p.m. EST. Additional information about these training calls can be found on our website www.amchp.org. If you are not attending the Conference, please visit your Members’ offices in your home districts.

· Please begin collecting state-specific information that would illustrate the impact of the loss or severe reduction of Title V funding for your state’s MCH population. We recognize that the most immediate impact in many states would be the loss of state MCH staff and while this is critically important, we do ask you to consider that for some policymakers the stated goal of these cuts is to shrink the size and cost of government so leading with the loss of government personnel is a counterproductive message.

Instead, consider developing messages that illustrate how that loss of staff would result in the reduction or decimation of essential direct, enabling, population-based, and system building services. Where possible we need to quantify the estimated number of individuals that would lose services. Please share any draft information with AMCHP to the attention of Brent Ewig (bewig@amchp.org).

· Please keep AMCHP staff apprised of any proposals to reduce or eliminate the Title V Block Grant that you might hear about within your own state. While we hope that this is not likely, we want to make sure that we are tracking all possible scenarios.

· Consider future plans to brief your state health agency leadership, child advocacy groups and other key partners and stakeholders in your state on possible proposed cuts or elimination of Title V so that they can engage their members and constituents in helping to educate legislators on the importance of Title V in promoting MCH. In dialogue with your state health agency leadership you may want to consider the advisability of asking them to give your Governor’s office a heads up on the potential consequences to MCH in your state as well.

Again, we urge you to strike a balanced view that this is in early stages at this point but considering the potential devastating consequences we feel as much up front groundwork to enlist support from key leaders will be helpful.

As anticipated, this new year will bring many challenges to Title V. We will need all your support to continue our work to support state Title V programs, and I thank you in advance for your assistance. If you have any questions or additional thoughts, please contact either me (mfraser@amchp.org) or Brent Ewig (bewig@amchp.org).

Last Minute Tech Savvy Gifts!

2010-12-21T14:39:00.002-05:00

Christmas may only be four days away but I bet some of you are still looking for the perfect gift.

Since we are very much appreciative of technology and innovation we decided to share a few of our favorite gadgets with you. We think they make great gifts for anyone on your last minute shopping list!

1. Kindle E-Book

This recently dropped in price down to $139.00 and is great for avid readers. Books download in under a minute and average only $9.99. The screen is large, font sizes adjustable, and the battery has a very long life.

2. Dell's Inspiron Duo Convertible Tablet

This is almost too cool for words. You can flip from a netbook to a tablet PC in the matter of seconds. Unlike some tablets, this supports Flash which can be helpful in many cases. You can play music, use this as an alarm clock, read books, watch movies, or actually use it for work!

3. iPod nano

As if we didn't already know Apple was genious...if you are a fan of music on the go then this is our top recommendation. This is the smallest and smartest iPod nano to date. The dialer for controlling the music is gone and is replaced with a small touch screen similar to an iTouch or iPhone. If you have kids to buy for then this is THE answer!

SmartPhone Apps

We are partial to a few smartphone applications, too.

1. Facebook and Twitter
Both are free applications that allow you to read your newsfeed, visit pages, and keep up with the Go Beyond MCH conversation as it grows!

2. Dragon Dictation
Don't text and drive - even Oprah says it is dangerous. Download this handy app and speak all of your status updates for Facebook and Twitter - no typing required!

3. RedLaser
This is perfect for you if you are a shopper or like to compare prices before you purchase. You can make the best decision on where to buy a product in the matter of seconds!

4. LogMeIn Ignition
This application allows you to log in to your PC or MAC from your iPhone or iTouch. Never again will you have to email files to yourself!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year,

The Go Beyond MCH Team

Looking Forward to 2011

2010-12-21T14:27:00.002-05:00

Looking ahead to 2011 there are several programs and conferences we would like to highlight!

The Jasmine Project
As we have mentioned in previous communications we are very much looking forward to working with the Jasmine Project, the newest Federal Healthy Start Program. We will be installing Well Family System in order to combine all data and research for them.

Florida Healthy Start
The Well Family System is being introduced as an alternative program and client management system for the Florida Healthy Start program in Flagler-Volusia Healthy Start Coalition and at the University of Miami.

FACCM
In partnership with Florida Association for Child Care Management (FACCM) we will be implementing a new program management system for their organization and for the Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment (APPLE) that they oversee for day care accreditation. This is one of our newest innovations as we continue to connect the potential for families in the Well Family System to be seamlessly engaged with services and programs that increase wellness and quality of life.

AMCHP Conference 2011
Just around the corner in February, we will be exhibitors and sponsors again this year. Please make sure to attend, stop by our booth, and participate in the Dr. John MacQueen Lecture!

Healthy Start Conference 2011
We look forward to the networking and learning that takes place each year at the Healthy Start Conference. This year is the 20th anniversary of Healthy Start and the conference is sure to be terrific.

CityMatCH Conference 2011
If you have visited our YoutTube channel then you have seen some of the great fun that takes place at this conference. This conference is more than that, though, as this small, focused group of professionals come together to create a worthwhile and engaging conference each year.

What are you and your organization looking forward to in 2011? What are new goals you all are setting forth? Please take a moment to share by commenting on our blog or posting on Facebook!

2010 Highlights

2010-12-21T13:45:00.013-05:00

Each year the field of maternal and child health moves forward thanks to the dedicated work of our peers in private and public organizations. From those in the field with consumers each and everyday to those in the area of research, all of us share a common goal - to provide the tools that better the lives of women, children, and families across our country and beyond.

Over the course of this year our company has had the opportunity to work with incredible people and organizations. Here are a few highlights:

Harrisburg Healthy Start - Hamilton Health Center
Hamilton Health Center and Healthy Start of Dauphin County provide prenatal and medical care, cessation counseling, and social services to expectant mothers. This year they chose Well Family System as their case management program and we continue to work to provide them innovative, user friendly resources for collecting and analyzing their evidence-based practices and community driven interventions.

Nashville Healthy Start
Davidson County is one of 26 counties in Tennessee participating in the Federal Healthy Start Program. This year we continued our relationship by installing the Well Family System for the program. Well Family System is a complete solution for program and case management and provides a full range of tools that are service delivery oriented and focused on extensive on-demand reports, lists, and analysis. These tools are provided to each level of involvement from administrator to provider to case manager.

Virginia FIMR
We began providing the Viriginia FIMR project a web based project management system known as BASINET. The Virginia FIMR is a community-based program that collects data and analyzes infant deaths and birth defects to identify common causes or precipitating factors. FIMR collects data from maternal interviews and medical records. The knowledge gained helps the state improve programs and systems of care for mothers and babies. It also helps communities create local solutions to the problems of infant mortality and morbidity by identifying a lack of services or an opportunity for cooperation among existing programs.

AMCHP Conference
We traveled to Washington DC and attended the AMCHP 2010 Conference. We participated as exhibitors and sponsors of the Dr. John MacQueen Lecture which celebrates innovation in the maternal and child health field. The AMCHP 2010 Annual Conference created an environment of discussions on cutting edge maternal and child health programs, methods, and policies from across the country and also helped to identify, translate and apply the latest research in maternal and child health. The event is a wonderful platform for netowrking among MCH professionals, researchers and government leaders.

Healthy Start Conference
We traveled to Washington DC and attended the 11th Annual Spring National Healthy Start Conference. This conference is especially beneficial to the Go Beyond MCH team as many of our clients are Healthy Start Programs. We have the opportunity to anticipate changes to the programs and continually update and improve our Well Family System product.

CityMatCH Conference
We traveled to Chicago, IL and attended the 20th Anniversary CityMatCH Urban Maternal and Child Health Conference. This conference provides a close knit atmosphere for networking and learning. For some of the fun click HERE to view our YouTube channel with a few highlights from the conference!

Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions Annual Training
Go Beyond MCH attended FAHSC's annual training. Among many of the MCH leaders in attendance, Dr. Michael Lu, MD, MS, MPH spoke on Reinventing Healthy Start: A Life Course Perspective. Dr. Lu is a leader in the research field of socio economic and public health research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA School of Public Health. It was our honor to learn from him and have the opportunity to speak with him. You can click HERE to view the Life Course Toolbox featuring several of Dr. Lu's papers.

Right from the Start
The Florida Department of Health and the Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas County have created a state-wide social marketing campaign using a grant awarded by HRSA. The Campaign is aimed at promoting positive birth outcomes by increasing awareness of preconception, inter-conception care, prenatal care, family support, and parenting among first time parents.

We have had the privilege and opportunity here at Go Beyond to participate in the project by building and maintaining the website component of the social marketing campaign. You can click HERE to view the program's website and HERE to view PDF files with information on all seven campaign topics.

National Discussion
Recognizing that the industry of maternal child health would benefit from a national forum focused on research and best practices, we set out to help create and support this conversation. In July we launched our blog, Facebook, Twitter, and our e-newsletters. We are continuing to build this online conversation and each week we have more active participants. We focus on creating a platform for you all to share information and bring awareness to your organization, sharing and commenting on research, and provide a place for open discussion. We invite you to join us if you have not done so - subscribe to our blog, "Like" us on Facebook, and "Follow" us on Twitter and share this with your colleagues!

MCH Online Community

2010-12-01T09:58:00.002-05:00

Hey there, hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! If you braved the sales on Black Friday we hope you made it through the crowds and found what you wanted!

Today we are asking that you provide feedback on our online community. As you know, we are working to build an online forum of MCH industry professionals. It is important to us to share our knowledge and learn from all of you. We want to know what you want - do you prefer email, blog, facebook, etc? Let us know!

The survey can be completed by clicking here - it takes less than 3 minutes and your response is much appreciated!!

Go Beyond Sponsors the Dr. John MacQueen Lecture

2010-11-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

The past three years we ahve had the opportunity and pleasure of attending the AMCHP Conference. Allan and I both value the relationship we have made during the time spent with many of you at the conference. It certainly makes a difference for our business to attend each year and we highly encourage those of you who have not yet registered to do so right away. The 2011 conference theme is "Working Together to Improve Maternal and Child Heath." As you know, working together is the reason for our communication efforts and we are counting the days to the conference!

We are proud to announce that Go Beyond will be sponsoring the Dr. John MacQueen Lecture this coming year. Dr. John MacQueen did remarkable work and believed in using innovation as his primary tool. If we have said it once we have said it a hundred times, innovation is the foundation of our work at Go Beyond. We continually look for ways to go beyond (no pun intended) the basic, linear information systems and develop ways of linking a variety of factors and data points. Our software solutions are service delivery oriented and focused on extensive on-demand reports, lists, and analysis.

Sponsoring the Dr. John MacQueen Lecture is a privilege for Go Beyond. We thank AMCHP for the opportunity and hope that we will see you in February!

Best Regards,
Jason Stamm

You can click HERE to visit the AMCHP 2011Conference Registration Page.

Election Results and the MCH Industry

2010-11-16T16:48:00.001-05:00

The November 2nd election results were quite interesting. The majority of the country had a pretty strong swing to the right as the Republican party gained momentum at a state and federal level. While we all have personal opinions regarding politics , what matters most to us here at Go Beyond is how election results affect our industry. The work we do each and every day is dependent on funding and support from the government.

I am sure many of you follow the work of AMCHP and we found their Legislative Update to be most helpful. Advocacy for the Funding of the Title V MCH Block Grant is going to be more difficult than ever. Government has to work from a challenged or balanced budget and surely increased cuts across a multitude of industries is inevitable.

The Affordable Care Act is also in limbo. Many of the newly elected officials have disagreed with the expansion of government into the realm of health care. This will more than likely create a tense political climate over the next few years.

These changes got us thinking here at Go Beyond. What does this mean for our industry? How can we work smarter, employ innovation, and join together to ensure our industry continues to thrive during surely difficult times? Now the obvious answer would be to find a miraculous source of funding and cure the ails of state and federally funded programs. Unfortunately we are not that lucky.

We feel the answer to this question is to work together as a community to share best practices, offer support to one another, and continue to advance our technology so that we offer the most beneficial services to the ones that matter most - the women, children, and families.

So the questions we pose to you today are these: How are you anticipating your programs to change in response to the election, if at all. What do you feel is the best way for us to spend our time and energy when it comes to improving our industry during such political times?

Please take a minute to respond by clicking HERE and commenting on our blog. We appreciate and value the opinions you share as they do help us all learn and improve our own programs and initiatives. As always, we welcome you to share specifics of your program and offer our blog, email, and social media profiles as your platform.

Looking forward to the conversation,
Allan Stamm

InfantSEE

2010-11-03T11:06:00.001-04:00

Moms want to ensure that their baby grows up happy and healthy and, it seems, all moms know about well-baby visits at the pediatrician's office. However, one well-baby visit is not as well known - baby's first trip to the optometrist.

Babies are not born with clear vision. Because they learn to see over a period of time, it is important to include a trip to the optometrist's office on the list of well-baby check-ups. A complete eye assessment for babies six to 12 months of age can determine healthy visual development.

Healthy eyes and good vision play an important part in how babies learn to see. Eye and vision problems can cause developmental delays. It is important to detect any problems early so babies can develop the visual abilities needed to learn.

InfantSEE^®, a public health program managed by Optometry Cares - The AOA Foundation, is designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care to improve a child's quality of life. Optometrists who participate in InfantSEE^® provide a one-time, comprehensive eye exam to babies in their first year of life. These exams are provided at no cost to all families, regardless of ability to pay or access to insurance coverage.

InfantSEE^® exams complement the well-baby exams received from the pediatrician or family physician. Optometrists have the training to identify areas of risk that are critical to vision development and the skills to identify conditions that might not be detected in a routine pediatric wellness exam.

One in every 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed eye and vision problems. Unfortunately, many children at risk for eye and vision problems are not being identified at an early age when many of those problems might be prevented or more easily corrected. To learn more about the InfantSEE^® program or to find an InfantSEE^® provider in your area, visit www.InfantSEE.org or call 888-396-3937.

Compliments to Florida Right from the Start

2010-11-03T11:03:00.001-04:00

Last week we featured Florida Right from the Start Program created by The Florida Department of Health and the Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas County.

They were awarded a grant by HRSA to create a campaign aimed at promoting positive birth outcomes. Part of this campaign was creating PDF files that were able to be shared throughout the state and with other MCH programs.

We are thrilled to report that many of you responded to our email last week and were so glad to have this resource! Here is just one of the many compliments to the Florida Right from the Start Program:

"Wow, GREAT JOB! I love the site, appreciate the reading level, and will share this with my doula friends, co-workers, and patients at SMH! (Sarasota Memorial Hospital) I am always on the lookout for good "first information" - the basics that parents can build onto later if they want further knowledge of a subject. I was working with a small group trying to find brief but thorough information on post partum depression so I am familiar with "what's out there" and I think your material is the best I have seen for the majority of the population I work with!

Laura Stutzman

Women's and Children's Family Resource Coordinator

Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Again, if you have information regarding your program that you would like to share with others please feel free to email us!

Best Regards,

Jason Stamm

State of the Art from the Heart

2010-11-03T11:01:00.000-04:00

Today we share with you an example of how Well Family System allows Hamilton Health Center and Healthy Start of Dauphin County to work more effectively in their communities. Like many MCH programs, they provide prenatal and medical care, cessation counseling, and social services to expectant mothers. They have also teamed up with Dauphin County Drug and Alcohol Commission to reach out to expectant mothers who are battling substance abuse through a program called "Baby Love."

Judith McCrea of Hamilton Health Center says, "Well Family System (WFS) has definitely been a huge help to our program as it gives us a place to document our work and to pull from for our reports monthly. WFS offers clear tabs and check boxes and allows us to list all of the information we need. It's nice to be able to go on and have everything accessible - I know our staff appreciates the system."

WFS is a powerful suite of management, documentation, and reporting tools for MCH programs. It provides a full range of tools that are service delivery oriented and focused on extensive on-demand reports, lists, and analysis. These tools are provided to each level of involvement f rom administrator to provider to case manager and include patient/client information and activity/engagement management with tickler based lists and tools, the ability to create family member profiles with full support plans and tracking, time management tools, and customizable reporting tools.

Here at Go Beyond we are both proud and humbled that we are able to take part in a way that makes the day to day process of caring for mothers and their children a little bit easier. While we are not in front of the families on a daily basis, we appreciate the work that so many nurses, case workers, program directors, etc do for their communities. If we can make a difference in the lives of those on the front lines by maximizing scarce resources and providing them with an innovative case management program then we know we are on the right track.

Best Regards,

Allan Stamm

Florida Right from the Start Program

2010-10-20T12:42:00.000-04:00

The Florida Department of Health and the Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas County have created a state-wide social marketing campaign using a grant awarded by HRSA. The campaign is aimed at promoting positive birth outcomes by increasing awareness of preconception, inter-conception care, prenatal care, family support and parenting among first time parents.

We have had the privilege and opportunity here at Go Beyond to participate in the project by building and maintaining the website component of the social marketing campaign. The website and the campaign as a whole focus on providing helpful information relating to the seven following messages:

Preconception Wellness

Planning
Healthy Weight
Nutrition
Dental Health
Infections and STDs
Substance Abuse

Prenatal Weight Gain
Interconception Wellness

Baby Spacing
Breastfeeding
Safe Sleep
Bonding and Infant Development

Preterm Labor
Stress During Pregnancy
Coping with Crying
Postpartum Depression

You can click HERE to view the program's website and HERE to view PDF files with information on all seven campaign topics.

We are sharing this program with you today because we want to make this information available to as many programs as possible. Specifically, the PDF files can be used in your programs social media campaign or printed to share directly with members of your community.

We would also like to know about programs you are involved in. What is your community doing to make a difference in the maternal and child health industry? Please take a few moments to post a comment in reply to this article - you can leave a comment on our blog or on our Facebook page. We welcome your participation and would love the opportunity to help you bring awareness to your programs.

Is Innovation Part of Your Current Program Design?

2010-10-15T11:33:00.002-04:00

We work with a variety of programs - from those that track only specific MCH factors to those that cohesively track MCH factors along with male involvement, workforce components, housing issues, etc. What we are continually noticing in our day to day business groove is that some programs "get it." They just do. They recognize that evidence based programs that connect an array of data are much more effective than linear computer programs focused only on analyzing and connecting a small portion of the issues at hand. On the other side of the spectrum, we see many non profits and government based programs using time and resources to develop new software that essentially does nothing different than what they had before. They keep reinventing the wheel with new bells and whistles while still following the same straight and narrowly focused path.

On the other hand, the programs that do understand that software is already developed and ready to be launched are taking great strides to incorporate innovation into their programs. Take our 50 Large Software as an example. 50 Large is our male involvement program, centered on high risk young men, that utilizes the Well Family System as the data and program management solution. We took the program to the next level and have developed a full male component that compliments maternal & child health programs such as Healthy Start that are standard in Well Family System. We are now able to provide programs with a solution that is no longer linear, but is circular in nature. We are able to connect the dots between not just the traditional MCH data inputs, but add in the data surrounding fathers, standard of living, etc.

We do consider ourselves to be an information and technology company - not an information technology company. What does that mean? Sometimes we feel like we can't get that message across strong enough. It means that we are involved in the maternal child health industry from top to bottom. We know that it is not just the health of the woman that affects her ability to carry a baby full term. We know that education, resources, living standards, etc play a vital role and affect her outcome. What we are able to do is take our understanding of the industry, couple that with knowing what data needs to be provided to those out in the field every day, and provide the evidence based software component that gives each fieldworker a full understanding versus a small view of the larger picture.

Today you are receiving this email because we value and appreciate your opinion, your input, and your knowledge. Please share this article with your peers. Ask them to participate in this conversation and spread the message of awareness. We ask you to join us on Facebook and take part in this discussion that is geared towards like-minded and innovative professionals who are interested in further developing their field. Our goal is to stop reinventing the wheel and to use this software for the betterment of women, children, and families in our communities and our nation as a whole.

Please, join us on Facebook. Once you are there please take a moment to share your thoughts and ask us questions. This communication effort is for the industry and together we can make it work!

Technology and the MCH Industry

2010-10-05T09:41:00.000-04:00

We at Go Beyond MCH are a technology company focusing on the applied use of the programs we create. On a daily basis we are more likely to be interacting with IT staff than with those who are the front line everyday working with mothers, babies, homeless citizens, etc. That is all fine and well for us but our passion lies not just in the innovative technologies we develop, but in the outcome our technologies are able to support and make possible.

We work to develop friendships within the industry, follow changes in legislation that directly effect our peers, and stay up-to-date on industry research so that we constantly are creating relevant technologies that can be applied with ease. But are we doing enough? What experience do you have with "IT minded people?" Not just Go Beyond, but the staff in your organization and other companies. Does it help when you work with companies who understand what data and tracking abilities you need written into your programs?

This is the discussion topic we would like to start this week. Communication from both sides will only make our lives easier and thus more effective at helping those in need - the children and families.

How are you navigating the changes in funding for technology and the approval process you face? Share your experience and comments HERE on our Facebook discussions tab. Please feel free to invite everyone in your organization to participate!

Looking forward to the comments,
Jason Stamm

Launching The STAR Family Shelter Program

2010-10-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties (HSCFVC) is proud to announce the launch of our pilot project, The STAR Family Shelter. "Our community has spent years talking about the benefit of a unified data system for our maternal and child health providers but as is the case with so many things - I doubt any of us truly believed the dream would ever materialize," says Dixie Morgese, Executive Director of HSCFVC

The key focus areas of the project are not only the unification of the maternal and child health providers, but also the ability to manage the families who are faced with being homeless. HSCFVC and Go Beyond were able to work together and adapt the Well Family System to manage a homeless focused program while still linking the process in to a family from an MCH perspective. HSCFVC is now able to ensure coordinated care, ensure non-duplication of effort, participate in multi-user family support planning, and is able to track unique client identifiers over time.

CityMatCH Conference Recap

2010-09-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month CityMatCH hosted their 20th annual conference in Chicago, IL and it was fantastic! If you have not had the opportunity to attend you must put this on your MCH bucket list for 2011. This was the first year Go Beyond had a presence at the conference and we have to say that we were blown away.

From the moment we arrived to the moment we left we were surrounded by like-minded people who were instant friends. As an innovative technology company we work mostly with the IT departments within the MCH community. This is all fine and well, but what we enjoy the most is working with those who are in the field conducting research and helping the women and children firsthand. The CityMatCH conference provided us with the ability to interact with kindred spirits, people who work day in and day out to better the lives of women, children, and their communities through research and counseling.

Most impressive was the passion of the entire CityMatCH team. We attend many conferences each year and it is rare to see an organization so energetic and so dedicated to what they do. If we had to sum it up we would say, "CityMatCH just gets it."

The enjoyment of what they do at CityMatCH is contagious...and we caught that on film! Part of the conference entertainment was the CityMatCH band...we were able to film a few of the songs performed and have uploaded them to our Go Beyond MCH YouTube Channel. Click HEREto watch the short clips from the 2010 CityMatCH Conference.

Again, Thanks to CityMatCH for planning and implementing such a relevant and fantastic conference this year.

Best Regards,
Allan Stamm, CEO

Honoring Infant Mortality Month

2010-09-28T09:55:00.001-04:00

September is National Infant Mortality Awareness Month and we would like to recognize the efforts of our colleagues across the country who work to reduce fetal and infant mortality in our country and across the globe.

Here at Go Beyond we are especially active in the Walk to Remember events of the regional Healthy Start programs with Capital Area Healthy Start and Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas County. Walk to Remember is an annual walk in honor of the babies who left us too soon. The walks serve to create awareness in the community and provide information so the general public can become involved. The Go Beyond Team will walk here in Tallahassee, FL with Capital Area Healthy Start on October 12th, 2010 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

For more information provided by The National Healthy Start Association click HERE. You can download their 2010 NIMAM Toolkit and visit their website for more resources.

We hope you, too, will become involved in a Walk to Remember in your area. Please feel free to send us information on your area's events or post pictures and information on our Facebook Page!

Sincerely,
Jason Stamm

Technology and Communication

2010-09-20T09:09:00.003-04:00

Technology is constantly changing our industry and helping companies and organizations more effectively reach their audience(s). Here at Go Beyond we are working to create an online conversation between industry professionals so we can openly share our resources - from new technologies to the latest research findings. This conversation is only made possible by new technologies - social media, blogging, texting, e-newsletters...so how are we able to use these technologies to reach mothers?

Today we would like to take a moment to show how Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition is using text messaging to help pregnant women receive the information they need. By texting BABY to 511411 or BEBE for Spanish speakers, mothers begin receiving text messages timed to their due date or baby's date of birth. More information regarding the benefits of this program can be found by clicking here.

What we would like to know from you all today is what technologies are helping you the most? What is changing our industry the most? Share what is working for you - you never know who it may help! You can comment here on the blog or jump over to our Facebook Page!

-The Go Beyond Team

Facebook Privacy Settings - Participating in Online Conversations

2010-09-20T08:54:00.001-04:00

Concerned about Facebook Privacy?

We are very excited to build this online community of MCH professionals and understand that your privacy is of top importance. Contrary to popular belief, Facebook does offer a variety of ways to control who sees your information on Facebook.

Simply log in to Facecbook and click "Account" in the upper right corner. Next, go to "Privacy" and click "Customize Settings." We recommend that you set all of your options to "Friends Only" - this allows your friends to see pictures of your family pets, your vacation, etc - but anyone that sees your profile through a Fan Page interaction will not be able to see anything except your name and any basic information you decided not to block - for example current city, current job, or education/alumni listing.

If you would like more information on setting your Facebook Privacy feel free to send a quick email to our communications resource at Marketing@GoBeyondMCH.com and they will be able to help!

Alabama's Vital Statistics Linked to BASINET FIMR Project

2010-09-20T08:53:00.001-04:00

Over the next few months Go Beyond will be working with the State of Alabama to connect the BASINET FIMR project with the state's vital statistics. State-level access allows coordinators to view and report on regional and statewide data as well as communicate with regional FIMR projects. BASINET will continue to improve the ability to analyze and evaluate contributing factors of fetal and infant mortality while coordinators will be able to focus on interventions and serving the citizens of Alabama through the efficiency of this web based project management system.

Welcome from our CEO, Mr. Allan Stamm

2010-07-29T10:38:00.004-04:00

Go Beyond works hard to provide next generation information and technology solutions to help improve birth outcomes, reduce infant mortality and increase the wellness of families. We appreciate all of the friendships and partnerships that we have made through our FIMR projects, epidemiologists and maternal child and family health professionals across the country. We continue to learn from your work and successes and value the information and feedback that you provide.

For the past several years many of our partners and colleagues have expressed an interest in participating in a national discussion about how we can share best practices, common problems and new ideas in the areas of infant mortality and maternal child and family health. It has also been suggested that we include in the discussion the ways that ideas and systems are being collaborated. This will not only improve the overall efficiency and process of sharing information, but also provide more focused family-centered care that results in successful evidence based programs.

We are happy to announce that Go Beyond is starting this discussion through our new blog and social media presence. Each Tuesday we will feature a new topic provided by Go Beyond and industry leaders who are working on the front-line in ground-breaking programs. Our areas of coverage will represent academics, research, program development, and policy. We will share information on how our partners and colleagues are innovating and also look forward to hearing ideas and best practices from other maternal child and family health professionals.

We invite you to join the blog and our social media platforms. Participate and engage in this industry wide conversation and help us make this a valuable experience for all of us. Thank you for the work that you do and we look forward to the conversations to come.

Best Regards,
Allan Stamm, CEO

GO BEYOND