SNJPC: Healthy Start

History

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB) Coalition of Camden City began in 1985 through NJDHSS funding. Camden was among the cities the NJ Department of Health identified as having a great need for a funded HMHB program. In 1992, as part of the state-mandated merger of MCH Consortia and NJDHSS-funded HMHB Coalitions, HMHB Coalition of Camden City joined the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative.

The goal of the program is to reduce the city's extremely high infant mortality rate. (HMHB is a national program. Some HMHB Coalitions have paid staff while others operate with volunteers.

In 1997, SNJPC was awarded a $6.8 million federal Healthy Start grant on behalf of HMHB Coalition of Camden City. The federal Healthy Start program is part of the Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant is being used to expand Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Camden's activities.

Models were chosen to address gaps in care and services that contributed to the high infant mortality rate. These new and expanded programs made possible through Healthy Start - when added to existing services - will create the type of comprehensive, seamless delivery network that saves lives.

The HMHB Coalition of Camden, along with several subcontractors, are responsible for implementing four models that will provide a comprehensive approach designed to lower Camden's extremely high infant mortality rate. (The infant mortality rate is based on the number of deaths under one year of age per 1,000 live births.) According to the latest available figures, the infant mortality rate for the State of New Jersey is 6.61. The infant mortality rate in the city of Camden is 16.86. Statistics are from NJDHSS 1995 Preliminary Data.