Each year, too many babies die from preventable causes and lack of health services. September is honored as National Infant Mortality Awareness month, to bring attention to the fact that many babies in the United States still don’t make it to their first birthday. This year the Healthy Start Coalition is celebrating EVERY baby —… Read More

August is celebrated each year as National Breastfeeding Month, dedicated to increasing the rates of and supporting breastfeeding mothers. Notable breastfeeding initiatives and news in Northeast Florida include: The Healthy Start Coalition is currently implementing a grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration rates within… Read More

This blog was written by Denise Mills, a former Nurse-Family Partnership participant. NFP is an evidence-based home-visiting model for pregnant women that is implemented within the Healthy Start program in Duval County and funded through the Florida Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.  Denise is currently a breastfeeding consultant with the Coalition. During National Breastfeeding Month,… Read More

On August 1, 20 two-year-old children joined a growing group of toddlers that have completed the Nurse-Family Partnership, an evidence-based home-visiting program that helps ensure first-time mothers have the education and resources to have a healthy baby. The graduates are enrollees in the Nurse-Family Partnership program, which launched in 2012 as part of the Florida Maternal,… Read More

One hundred forty-three babies in Northeast Florida died before their first birthday — meaning eight classes of kindergartners will not start school in five years. The regional infant mortality rate remains at 8.0 deaths per 1,000 live births, higher than recent years but still lower than just a decade ago. The black and other nonwhite… Read More