The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee voted to add infant mortality to the list of priorities in its strategic plan at a meeting Tuesday, January 7, 2020. The Finance Committee is responsible for updating the strategic plan. Councilman Ron Salem made the suggestion. The committee agreed to add an item to their three-year goals to… Read More

The Healthy Start Coalition has partnered with local child welfare organizations to implement the Plan of Safe Care locally for substance-exposed newborns. The Coalition has worked as part of the Early Childhood Court Steering Committee to develop local protocols and joined with the Florida Department of Children & Families and Family Support Services of North… Read More

Exclusive breastfeeding rates during new mothers’ hospital stays varied significantly by facility in Northeast Florida in 2015, according to quarterly data released by the Northeast Florida Breastfeeding Collaborative. Approximately 75 percent of moms that delivered at Baby-Friendly Hospitals breastfed exclusively, compared to less than 30 percent of moms at UF Health Jacksonville. Click here to… Read More

This guest post was written by Amy Turci, 2015-2016 March of Dimes Northeast Florida Division Board Chair. November is Prematurity Awareness Month, when the March of Dimes focuses the nation’s attention on premature birth. Activities include the release of the Premature Birth Report Card and World Prematurity Day on November 17. Ask most moms-to-be whether they want a boy or a… Read More

Jacksonville was represented at the Florida Prematurity Summit held by the March of Dimes Florida Chapter November 10 in Tampa. The Summit was held to look at the status of preterm births, identify evidence-based strategies to reduce preterm birth rates and develop a statewide vision and strategic plan to address the issue. The city was… Read More