Reinventing MCH Practice:
Rising to the Challenge, Committing to the Future
August 23-25, 2009 | New Orleans, Louisiana
CityMatCH would like to send a heart-felt thank you to all who helped make our 19th Annual CityMatCH Urban MCH Leadership Conference a success! You can find photos, conference PowerPoint presentations, and more exciting highlights from conference below!

To download conference materials, Right click on the links and choose "Save Target As..."

Conference Theme

At the close of the 2008 CityMatCH Conference in Albuquerque, the final speaker, Dr. Michael Lu, reminded us that "we can do better" in maternal and child health practice. The coming years will be a time of change for MCH. Budget cuts have MCH professionals struggling to prioritize services and programs for women, children and families. At the same time, new ideas for reframing urban MCH around a Life Course Health Development Model have re-energized the field.

With this as background, the 2009 Conference built upon these intersecting issues. In New Orleans, the conference sessions, speakers and activities suggested that moving forward in urban MCH would require evidence, innovation and leadership. Specifically, local MCH leaders will need to:
  • Recognize and expand the evidence base
  • Value and implement innovation in practice and policy
  • Develop and demonstrate leadership

As we close out 2009 and head into our 20th anniversary year, CityMatCH encourages you to read through the materials below, to refocus your work towards evidence, innovation and leadership, and to re-inspire yourself about the work you do each and every day for the women, children and families in urban communities nationwide.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

2009 Conference Presentations
  • 8:00 AM -
  • 5:00 PM
  • Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Workshop
  • 2:00 PM -
  • 6:00 PM
  • Pre-Conference Workshops
Speaker:
Adam Shapiro, BJ

CEO/President
Adam Shapiro Public Relations

A hot conference topic is back with an expanded workshop focused on packaging your message for policy makers and elected officials to better persuade them to support an MCH agenda. Participants who attend this workshop will learn how a "Message Box" can be a framing tool and will have the opportunity to practice putting one together.

Speakers: 
Michael D. Kogan, PhD

Director, Office of Data and Program Development
HRSA / Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Laurin Kasehagen, PhD, MA
Senior CDC MCH Epidemiologist / Assignee to CityMatCH
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Add something new to your data toolbox! Drs. Michael Kogan and Laurin Kasehagen Robinson will provide an interactive and hands-on experience in developing program objectives and high-quality performance measures. Workshop participants will build a logic model and enhance their understanding of the relationship between program theory, performance measures and evaluation.

Speaker:
Claudia S. P. Fernandez, DrPH, MS, RD, LDN

Director, Fast Track Leadership Development Program
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Maternal and Child Health
Program Director, ACOG Leadership Institute
Director, Leadership Core, Food Systems Leadership Institute
The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Claudia Fernandez, a seasoned public health leadership expert, will guide future mentors towards making the most out of a mentoring relationship, whether formal or informal. This skills-building workshop will provide hands-on experience through sharing a broad array of strategies and skills to develop others in organizations, with an emphasis on mentoring and peer coaching. The workshop also will provide participants with opportunities to develop a personal career development mentoring work plan and enhance their understanding of how to implement these concepts within their organization.

Download 2009 CityMatCH Conference Opening Video
(Please right click the link and download to your computer before playing)

Speaker:
Veronica L. Gunn, MD, MPH, FAAP

Chief Medical Officer
Tennessee Department of Health

What do we mean when we say "This is evidence-based!" and how do we know if it really is? In this session, public health leaders will define evidence and discuss where to find it, how to use it to create programs and policies, and what maternal and child health professionals should be doing to add to the evidence base. Finally, this session will highlight tips and strategies for implementation at the local level.

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  • 10:15 AM -
  • 11:45 AM
  • Breakouts A

Speaker: Julie West, MPH
Project/Program Manager III

Public Health - Seattle & King County
Environmental Health Services Division
Seattle, Washington

For the last several years, our chronic disease and environmental health colleagues have been promoting the use of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to make program, policy, and city development decisions as healthy as possible. Until recently, MCH has not played a significant role in using this valuable tool in urban communities. Given the increasing prominence of this methodology, and the attention it has received from President Obama and his administration, it is important for MCH practitioners to understand HIA and be able to identify ways that they can become involved in the process.

Speakers: 
Maxwell Ciardullo, BA
Information Coordinator
SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States)

Lisa Richardson, PhD
Program Director/Sexual & Reproductive Advocacy Project
Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies

The recent change in administration provides an opportunity to develop new messaging frameworks to promote science-based approaches to comprehensive sexuality education in the United States. This session will investigate innovative strategies for programs, policies, and advocacy efforts that fully meet the needs of our young people. National data and the work of the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies will be shared.

Speaker: 
Edward C. Waltz, PhD

Associate Director
Prevention Research Center
University at Albany School of Public Health
Albany, NY

Good program planning requires that local data identifies the need for an intervention and that the intervention selected is likely to improve population health. This session will describe a framework for assessing community health to identify needs, and then demonstrate how local public health professionals can find and assess evidence-based interventions. Topics will include adapting evidence-based programs to local circumstances and determining how strengths and weaknesses of different types of evidence can help communities prioritize among potential solutions.

Speaker: 
Deborah Fisher, MA

Writer & Community Instigator
Fisher/Nyberg & Associates

This session highlights a practical 10-step planning, implementation, and evaluation process grounded in proven prevention strategies and blended with the Developmental Assets® model. The session will introduce the steps, describe the evidence base for both Getting To Outcomes® and asset-building, and provide tips and stories about using the Assets-GTO process in creative, cost-conscious ways to identify, measure, and publicize change.

Speakers: 
James M. Perrin, MD

American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Mental Health Representative
Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Director, MGH Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy

Michael Houston, M.D.
AACAP, Co-Chair Committee on Healthcare Access and Economics
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics
George Washington University School of Medicine

This session uses data to identify the numerous administrative and financial barriers to providing collaborative mental health care and to evaluate best practices and innovative strategies to eliminate these barriers. Representing the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the expert presenters will employ innovative thinking and strategies to achieve improved collaboration across sectors. Participants will hear about strategies, best practices and specific examples of programs and policies that address these barriers, paying particular attention to issues specific to maternal, child and adolescent health.

HONORABLE MENTION of the "Kathy Carson Promising Practice award":

Margaret Chao & colleagues from the Los Angeles County Dept of Public Health for their abstract:  "Reasons for Perceived Discrimination among New Mothers"

Pamela McGranahan & Suzanne Gaulocher from Public Health Madison / Dane County, WI and University of Wisconsin, Madison for their abstract:  "Giving Voice to African American Women in Shaping Health Disparity Inquiry"

Mia Arias & colleagues from the National Health Foundation in Los Angeles for their abstract:  "The Los Angeles Chronic Disease Management Consortium"

Wanda Wesson & colleagues from the March of Dimes for their abstract:  "Honey Child Prenatal Education Program:  A Faith-based Model Designed to Reduce Disparities in Birth Outcomes Among African American Women"

WINNERS of the 2009 "Kathy Carson Promising Practice Award":

Paymon Ebrahimzadeh & colleagues from the Los Angeles County Dept of Public Health for their abstract titled: "HIV Prenatal Testing and Discussions among Race / Ethnicity in the 2005 LAMB Study."

And

Rita Beam & colleagues from the Tri-County Health Dept in Colorado for their abstract titled: "Creating Community Involvement to Conduct a Perinatal Periods of Risk Assessment."

Winners for our poster presentations of "Examples from the Field":

WINNER of the Effective Communication Award for excellence in translating results to an audience
Los Angeles County Department of Health for their abstract titled:  "Circumstances of Perceived Discrimination Among New Mothers:  2005 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) Survey

HONORABLE MENTION of the STAR Award for science translated to action and results
Laura Gaydos at Emory University for their abstract titled:  "The Role of Faith in Family Planning for Southern African-American Women"

WINNER of the STAR Award for science translated to action and results

Lyn Kieltyka and colleagues from the Louisiana Office of Public Health for their abstract titled:  "Changes in New Orleans Birth Outcomes Following Hurricane Katrina"

  • 1:45 PM -
  • 2:45 PM
  • Oral Presentations: Examples from the Field
Field Examples:

Validation of Fertility Treatment Use Questions on the 2004 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System Survey
(Danielle Barradas, PhD)

Reducing Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in Los Angeles County: A Focus on Maternal Hemorrhage
(Diana Ramos, MD, MPH, FACOG, and Paymon Ebrahimzadeh, MPH)

Being Born at the Right Place: Definitions and Data Collection on Neonatal Levels of Care
(Wanda Barfield, MD, MPH)

  • 4:00 PM -
  • 5:00 PM
  • Oral Presentations: Examples from the Field
Field Examples:

Utilizing a Life Course Framework in Community Maternal and Child Health Planning
(Carol Brady, MA and Thomas Bryant III, MSW)

Speaker: 
Candy Whirley, MM

SBG Services, LLC
Author "It Takes 4 To Tango"
Co-Author "Magnetic Leadership"
Co-Author "Ordinary Women...Extraordinary Success"
Author "My Secret Island Oasis - A Guided Meditation"

In the dance world it takes 2 to tango but in the real world it takes 4 to TANGO! There are four main personalities that separate us. We live and work with all these different personalities. And what happens? We have communication break-down, negotiation let-down, and innovation fall-down. By the end of this session you will be analyzing who you are and what personality your staff and community might exhibit. That is where the creative juices start flowing and innovation begins! You will learn: 1) The strengths, weaknesses and dark-sides of each personality….and who is most creative; 2) How to use both sides of your brain to capture more ideas than you thought possible; 3) To break away from the pack of ‘We’ve always done it this way’; and, 4) seven ways to boost your creativity.

  • 9:30 AM -
  • 10:30 AM
  • Oral Presentations: Examples from the Field
Field Examples:

Reinventing MCH: Taking a Leadership Role in Your Local Health Department
(Cheri Pies, DrPH, MSW, MPH)

Building Partnerships to Promote Preconception Health
(Kiko Malin, MPH, MSW)

Redesigning the Black Infant Health Program in California - Positive Leadership for Maximum Impact
(Sonja Morley, BA)

Field Examples:

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
(Ellen Schleicher Pliska, MHS)

Montana WIC Program, Department of Public Health and Human Services
(Joan Bowsher, BS)

WIC Program Division, California Department of Public Health
(Linnea Sallack, MPH, RD)

Field Example:

Innovative Solutions for HIV, STD, and Teen Pregnancy Prevention
(Lissa Pressfield, MHS, and Sandra Serna Smith, MPH)

  • 10:45 AM -
  • 12:15 PM
  • Breakouts B

Speaker:
Edward C. Waltz, PhD

Associate Director
Prevention Research Center
University at Albany School of Public Health
Albany, NY

To fully utilize our limited resources, we must glean all useful information from our programs, which are often the source of real innovation in public health. This session will establish a framework for monitoring and evaluation of community health programs, starting with the logic model. Topics will include incorporating stakeholder priorities throughout the process, identifying the most essential data to collect, integrating qualitative and quantitative data, disseminating results to contribute to the knowledge base, working with an outside evaluator, and locating on-line evaluation resources.

Speakers:
Cheri Pies, MSW, DrPH

Director of Family, Maternal and Child Health
Contra Costa County Health Services Division

Padmini Parthasarathy, MPH
Life Course Initiative Coordinator
Family, Maternal and Child Health Programs
Contra Costa Health Services

The Building Economic Security Today (BEST) Program is a part of Contra Costa Health Services' Life Course Initiative. BEST is an asset development pilot project that utilizes innovative strategies to reduce disparities and inequities in health outcomes for this and future generations of low-income families. This session will provide an overview of BEST, explain how it fits in with the health department's Life Course Initiative and provide participants with the opportunity to brainstorm and share their own innovative ideas for incorporating a Life Course approach into their work.

Speaker:
William Arroyo, MD

Deputy Director
Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

In 2005, the LA County Department of Mental Health (DMH) developed a Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) Plan, mandated by the Mental Health Services Act. The PEI guidelines identified key community mental health needs, such as reducing disparities in access to services and increasing prevention and response to early signs of emotional and behavioral health problems among specific at-risk populations. This session will review these reform efforts, including strategies, barriers, lessons learned, and highlight their innovative focus on systems of care - moving from an "illness" to a "wellness" perspective.

Speaker: 
Sarah E. Hoffpauir, MSW

Director of Behavioral Health Initiatives
Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)

Striking an appropriate work/life balance is essential to being an effective leader and role model in your home, organization, and community. This session will detail techniques you can use to move toward maintaining better work/life balance and explore the importance of taking care of yourself (mentally, physically, emotionally, and in relationships with others).

Speaker: 
Candy Whirley, MM

SBG Services, LLC
Author "It Takes 4 To Tango"
Co-Author "Magnetic Leadership"
Co-Author "Ordinary Women...Extraordinary Success"
Author "My Secret Island Oasis - A Guided Meditation"

This session is hands-on, so be ready for a real brain workout. By the time you leave, you will find out what drives creative ideas, discover new and creative ways to problem-solve, become a creative genius, and learn to come up with new ideas in less than 5 minutes!

  • 12:30 PM -
  • 1:30 PM
  • Magda Peck Leadership Symposium & Luncheon

On Monday afternoon, we broke out of our traditional conference format in order to allow conference attendees to participate in a service-learning experience. These opportunities, coordinated by CityMatCH and the City of New Orleans Health Department, built upon the conference momentum and allowed participants to learn about the unique successes and struggles faced by the New Orleans' MCH community through rebuilding efforts.

Conference attendees participated in one of the following service-learning experiences:

- Off-site Experience: 
Holt Cemetery Clean-up: In partnership with Operation Nehemiah, CityMatCH Conference participants helped in grounds maintenance at one of New Orleans only in-ground cemeteries. This included resetting headstones, digging a trench around the cemetery to allow for proper drainage, and other general clean-up.

Edna Pilsbury Health Center: This local health center served as the second off-site service learning opportunity. Participants worked in partnership with the Healthy Start of New Orleans to up-keep the grounds and parking lot surrounding the center.

- On-site Experience:
Within the hotel participants were engaged in local MCH activities while they learned about the community and assisted with important projects such as creating family emergency kits to be used in the event of an evacuation, developing informational packets for physicians on local MCH services, and coordinating safe sleep mailings.

More highlights of these Service Learning activities can be found in the Conference photos!

Speakers:
Peter C. van Dyck, MD, MPH
Associate Administrator for Maternal and Child Health
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Samuel F. Posner, PhD
Editor in Chief, Preventing Chronic Disease
Deputy Associate Director for Science
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Description: 
We are honored to hear from our federal partners this morning as they discuss current eff orts to improve the health and well-being of our Nation's families in this year of health reform.

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Summit summary and follow-up activities coming soon!
  • 11:15 AM -
  • 11:30 AM
  • Conference Closing / Summit Commencement