Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative
Who We Are and What We Do
The Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative (SNJPC or the Cooperative) was instituted in 1981 as a demonstration project by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS). While the mandate was to reduce infant mortality, initially the Cooperative's activities focused on the coordination of regional neonatal intensive care services, neonatal and maternal transfer and professional education. Over the next decade, the Cooperative became involved in many community-based projects aimed at addressing the prevention of preterm delivery and low birth weight infants.
In 1987, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) funded a statewide initiative for regional services using the Cooperative's structure as a model. RWJ funding continued for five years until the state of New Jersey issued new perinatal regulations in 1992, which codified a statewide network of Maternal and Child Health Consortia (MCHC).
In 1993, the Cooperative was officially designated the state licensed MCHC for the seven county Southern New Jersey Region. This new designation expanded the Cooperative's role into pediatric services.
In 1996, with the encouragement and support of the NJDHSS, the MCH Consortia and the state funded Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB) Coalitions were merged. For the Cooperative, this meant adding the Atlantic City and Camden City Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalitions with the voluntary Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalitions already under the SNJPC umbrella. Outreach services provided by the funded Coalitions are considered an important component of the Cooperative's efforts toward improving birth outcomes.
The Cooperative is unique among perinatal systems in the United States. It oversees an integrated network of hospital and community agencies, is committed to collaboration with local public health agencies and includes consumers as partners in the policy making.
As an MCHC, the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative's is expected to:
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Develop a regional perinatal and pediatric prevention plan |
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Develop a region-wide system for total quality improvement of MCH services |
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Provide education for maternal and child health care and social service professionals |
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Develop and plan for infant tracking and follow-up services |
Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative
Comments or questions
URL: http://www.snjpc.org
Last modified: 22 March 1999