June 27, 2016

Florida Healthy Babies Community Meeting to be hosted by the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County

Contact:
Jennifer S. Sexton
Jennifer.Sexton@flhealth.gov
941-624-7279

Port Charlotte, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County (DOH-Charlotte) is pleased to announce it will be hosting a community meeting to discuss Florida Healthy Babies.  Florida Healthy Babies is a collaborative statewide initiative designed to positively influence social determinants of health and reduce racial disparities in infant mortality.  The meeting will take place at 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. on July 8, 2016 at DOH-Charlotte.

“Over one thousand babies are born each year in Charlotte County.  Each and every one of those babies deserves to have a healthy start in life,” says DOH-Charlotte Interim Health Officer, Mary Kay Burns.  “This means working together as a community to focus our efforts and resources to eliminate disparities in health care and fight for health equity.” 

Recently, the department invested $1.4 million in the Florida Healthy Babies Initiative, which is an effort of the department’s Health Equity Program Council.  The Health Equity Program Council focuses on helping all Floridians achieve health equity.  Part of the funding was provided to all 67 counties to conduct an enhanced data analysis of infant mortality and to host community-action planning meetings to address disparities in infant mortality.

The guest speaker for the event will be Ms. Diana Stark, MN, CNS, RNC-NIC, a staff nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care at Bayfront Port Charlotte.  Ms. Stark has an extensive background as a Clinical Educator, Versant Nursing Education Consultant, a lead trainer for various NICU programs, a lecturer on various topics of infant mortality and health equity and an author for numerous publications. 

What:  Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County Florida Healthy Babies Community Meeting

When:  9 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Friday, July 8, 2016

Where:  Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County, 1100 Loveland Blvd., Port Charlotte, FL  33980

RSVP to:  Lauren.Schmidt2@flhealth.gov or 941-624-7271 by July 5, 2016

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.