A View From the Editorial Board / Data Lag Hurts Infant Mortality Fight

Summary

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I was inspired to write this after having lunch recently with my rabbi, Micah Greenstein. I'm not sure how we got to talking about infant mortality, but when he called it a public health issue, it really got me thinking.

Health care reform, funding for the Regional Medical Center at Memphis and progress on reducing the number of premature babies are interlinked issues in our community. One of the primary causes of our higher infant mortality rate is the higher incidence of premature babies born in Shelby County. We spend an average of $75,000 in medical costs for every premature baby, and many of these babies are born at The Med. Solving the infant mortality problem in Shelby County will result in lower health care costs and lower costs of indigent care at The Med.

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A View From the Editorial Board / Data Lag Hurts Infant Mortality Fight

In researching what is currently being done to reduce infant mortality in Memphis, I was impressed with the ongoing efforts. There is a Nurse Family Partnership program that helps provide home visits for...

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