| January 18, 2010 |
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Arkansas Quality Foundation Receives Blue & You Foundation Grant for Infant Mortality Program
Nonprofit organization to conduct research and develop educational and intervention program
Contact Information
Janna Williams
501-212-8646
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. − January __, 2010 − Arkansas’ infant mortality rate is higher than 39 U.S. states at a rate of 8.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. This is a major concern of the Arkansas Quality Foundation (AQF), a wholly owned 501©3 subsidiary of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC). The Foundation has received a one-year grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas to research the high incidence of infant mortality in the state and to develop an educational and intervention program. The Blue & You Foundation is a charitable foundation of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield that has given $1.5 million in grants to assist 33 health programs for 2010. The AQF project is titled “Baby Steps” and refers to taking small, but important milestones towards the issues surrounding infant mortality. “A single infant death is one too many,” said Dr. Nick Paslidis, AFMC’s president and CEO. “The Blue & You grant will allow our foundation to identify root causes and to look for at-risk populations where interventions can yield the best results. We are uniquely qualified to research and evaluate these issues and to develop programs to help reduce infant mortality.” AQF will begin its work in January by gathering infant death root cause analysis from hospital records and autopsy reports; reviewing immunization data; reviewing information from the Arkansas Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); and gathering information from EMT and police reports. Both pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys will be conducted. ### About Arkansas Quality Foundation Arkansas Quality Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation to promote health through research and development in the area of quality measurement and improvement for health care providers and practitioners in Arkansas. About Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care For 37 years, through utilization review, quality improvement projects, and public education, the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care has worked to improve the health of Arkansans. Our mission statement: To promote excellence in health care through evaluation and education. Visit our online newsroom at www.afmc.org/media.