The infant mortality rate in some Chattanooga neighborhoods compares to that of some developing nations, so BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is funding an initiative to save Hamilton County babies.
“To just say that Tennessee’s infant mortality statistics are alarming would be an understatement,” said Calvin Anderson, BlueCross’ vice president of federal and community relations. “Here in Tennessee, in America, with our advanced medicine and high social economic development, we’re at Third World-country levels when it comes to the health of our children.”
Anderson was among dozens of people who cheered Thursday when BlueCross BlueShield announced a $1.7 million grant to expand the Blues Project to Hamilton County. The infant mortality prevention initiative is administered by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
MEMPHIS BLUES PROJECTOf the more than 800 women enrolled in the program in Memphis, only 9 percent had low birth weight babies between 2005 and 2009, compared with 18.6 percent of the 758 women at the same clinics who weren’t enrolled, she said. Prematurity rates were 7.4 for participants and 19.7 for nonparticipants.RISK FACTORSSocial issues such as poverty and educational disparities underlie many of the more direct causes of infant mortality, such as lack of prenatal care, domestic violence and substance abuse.Source: Newspaper archives
The program, which has operated in Memphis, will be implemented in Hamilton County in October.