On Nov. 10, FLOURISH hosted the “St. Louis Summit to Save Our Babies” to call local government and community leaders to address infant mortality rates in the area. The Summit, held in Pagedale at the 24:1 Cinema – a member of the Beyond Housing initiative – centered around learning what factors contribute to an alarming number of babies dying in St. Louis and brainstorming ideas for new legislative policies and cross-organizational collaborations that could address the issue.
“Infant mortality is often considered the canary in the coal mine for a community’s health,” said Kendra Copanas, executive director of Generate Health, the organization leading FLOURISH’s efforts. “The health of St. Louis babies is falling far behind the national average. Infant mortality reduction must be a priority for our region’s elected officials and other industry leaders.”
Attendees included representatives from St. Louis City and County health departments, the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate, health systems and local nonprofits. The Summit sought to introduce attendees to the systemic issues that impact St. Louisans’ access to quality care, as well as demonstrate the momentum that FLOURISH has created around these issues since the beginning of the initiative.
Guest speakers from several of the FLOURISH Action Teams were featured in four breakout sessions. Each presenter dove deeper into how the Action Team is working to make progress in prenatal care, infant health, behavioral health and transportation, then facilitated discussion with attendees on how they could impact that area.
During the Summit, FLOURISH revealed new developments within several collaborative projects that are currently underway. In partnership with FLOURISH’s transportation team, Medicaid managed care providers Home State Health, Missouri Care/Wellcare and United Healthcare have come together to standardize the way they provide transportation services for Medicaid patients. These new initiatives will make it easier for families to access care.
FLOURISH also highlighted how a multi-hospital collaboration helped earn a $250,000 grant from the BUILD Health Challenge. The grant will be used to improve transportation access for pregnant women and new parents in the St. Louis area, and is supported by the City of St. Louis Department of Health, SSM Health, St. Louis Children’s and Barnes Jewish Hospitals, Mercy Hospital St. Louis, and Project LAUNCH/Vision for Children at Risk.
“The hope is that summit attendees from sectors of government, healthcare, and community services will bring the information they learned during the summit back to their organizations,” said Copanas. “If we all commit to action, we’ll be closer to a St. Louis where more babies live to celebrate a happy and healthy first birthday.”
For more information on the infant mortality crisis facing the St. Louis region, watch the keynote video from the St. Louis Summit to Save our Babies.