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    Partnering to Support Healthy Moms and Babies in Baltimore and Beyond: Celebrating 10 Years of B’More for Healthy Babies

    A virtual conference series to share the success of B'more for Healthy Babies

    Welcome from Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, Commissioner of Health, Baltimore City Health Department

    In the decade since its creation, B’more for Healthy Babies (BHB) has impacted the lives of many families in Baltimore. The initiative brings together policymakers, service providers, community organizations, and residents to strategically allocate resources and streamline communication at all levels of the maternal and child health system so that every baby might have the best possible start.

    This virtual event series reviewed the success of B’more for Healthy Babies, outlined the goals for the program moving forward, and gathered strategies and enhanced momentum for building organizational capacity to implement community-based research to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Learn more about the speakers.

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    Pre-session : An Introduction to the Work of B'more for Healthy Babies

    In this introduction to the series, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Maternal & Child Health at Baltimore City Health Department, Rebecca Dineen, gave a brief overview of disparities in infant mortality in Baltimore, the B'more for Healthy Babies Program's impact so far, and their vision for the next ten years of supporting the health of children and families in the community. Learn more about Baltimore City Health Department's partnership with BHB. Download the slides (PDF).


     

    Virtual Session 1: Enhancing Local Partnerships: Community Engagement and Impact
    October 7, 2020
    5 - 6:30 p.m. ET

    Community partnerships have been key to the success of the B’More for Healthy Babies (BHB) initiative. Engaging community members to identify specific needs and develop outreach strategies has enhanced the initiative’s ability to reach those who would most benefit from the services delivered to expectant mothers, new parents, and infants. Download the slides (PDF).

    Speakers

    Pamela Bohrer Brown
    Director, Maternal and Child Health and Multicultural Programs
    Baltimore Medical System

    Quant'e Boulware
    Barber
    Cutt Styles Unisex Barbershop

    Lucia Islas
    President, Comité Latino de Baltimore
    Community Outreach Specialist, Centro Sol

    Stacey Stephens, LCSW-C
    Director, B'more for Healthy Babies Upton/Druid Heights 
    University of Maryland School of Social Work

    Moderator

    Tisha Edwards, MSW, JD
    Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success
    City of Baltimore


     

    Virtual Session 2: A Decade of Progress: Examining B’More for Healthy Babies Program Outcomes
    October 14, 2020
    5 - 6:30 p.m. ET

    This session introduced the B’More for Healthy Babies (BHB) initiative and highlighted the citywide programs and services that it offers. To illustrate the impact BHB has had over the past decade, speakers presented research and evaluation findings related to birth outcomes in Baltimore. Learn more about BHB's programs in Promise Heights. Download the slides (PDF).

    Speakers

    Amy Bopp, MSW
    Project Director,  Professional Development
    Family League of Baltimore

    Traci Kodeck, MPH 
    CEO 
    HealthCare Access Maryland

    Wendy Gwirtzman Lane, MD, MPH
    Clinical Associate Professor
    Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics
    University of Maryland School of Medicine

    Amber C. Summers, PhD, RDN, CHES
    Senior Program Officer
    Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

    Moderator

    Cathy L. Costa, MSW, MPH
    Director of Strategic Initiatives, Maternal and Child Health
    Baltimore City Health Department


     

    Virtual Session 3: Social Mobilization to Drive Change
    October 21, 2020
    5 - 6:30 p.m. ET

    This session recognized the importance of community involvement in improving birth outcomes and provided examples of ways that seeking out and addressing stakeholder input has led to change. Speakers highlighted examples of how the work of B’More for Healthy Babies has changed as a result of empowering the community voice. Download the slides (PDF).

    Speakers

    Keyonna Green
    Community Advisory Board
    B'more for Healthy Babies

    Giselle Joseph
    Community Outreach Worker, Promise Heights
    B’More for Healthy Babies Upton-Druid Heights

    Tina Suliman, MSPH
    Communications Associate
    Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

    Moderator

    Amber C. Summers, PhD, RDN, CHES
    Senior Program Officer
    Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs


     

    Virtual Session 4: The Path Forward: Sustainability for Future Impact
    October 28, 2020
    5 - 6:30 p.m. ET

    Following earlier sessions that introduced the objectives of the B’More for Healthy Babies (BHB) initiative and its outcomes, this final panel celebrated the progress achieved from the first 10 years and identified challenges and opportunities that exist to move the program into the next decade. Panelists discussed ways that BHB, its funders, and partners could approach the future with community needs and perspectives front and center. In our current climate, who ensures that large systems center the community?

    Speakers

    Alison G. Brown, MPH, BSN
    Interim President, UMMC Downtown Campus
    President, UMMC Midtown Campus

    Shelly Choo, MD, MPH
    Director, Maternal and Child Health Bureau
    Maryland Department of Health

    Demaune Millard
    Chief Executive Officer
    Family League of Baltimore

    Christopher Thomaskutty
    Senior Vice President, Physician Enterprise
    Mercy Health Services

    Maria Harris Tildon, JD
    Executive Vice President for Marketing, Government Affairs
    CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

    Moderator

    Terry Staudenmaier
    Senior Program Officer for Health & Human Services
    Abell Foundation


     

    Virtual Exhibit: Student Posters

    Attitudes, Influencers, Subjective Norms, and Challenges among Breastfeeding Mothers in Baltimore City
    Talia Kozlowski, MD, MPH is a 2019 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Master's in Public Health Program. She worked with BHB Upton/Druid Heights (U/DH) in completing her MPH Capstone project. She is currently a 2nd year resident in Pediatrics at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

    Engaging Barbers as Peer Educators for Smoking Cessation
    Arif Mahmud, MBBS, MSc, DrPH is a recent graduate of the Doctoral Program in Public Health at Morgan State University. He received his medical degree in his native Bangladesh, conducted community-based research there, and obtained a master's degree in International Health before coming to the United States. He completed his practicum and dissertation work with BHB U/DH.

    Psychosocial Predictors of Health and Unhealthy Interpregnancy Intervals
    Ruth Young, MD is a 2017 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She worked with BHB U/DH as part of the medical student research requirement between her first and second years of medical school. She is currently a Psychiatry resident at the University of Maryland Medical Center.


    This series is made possible through funding from The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.