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[Overview of the Fetal and infant Mortality program presented by Bridgette Shaffer, MPH Health Director JACKSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH]
GET STARTED.WELCOME TO HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT.
UH, WE HAVE WITH US OUR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH, MS. BRIDGET SCHAFER.
THANK YOU FOR COMING AND TALKING TO US ABOUT GIVING US AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON.
SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE, UM, AGAIN, I'M BRIDGET SCHAFER, DIRECTOR AT JACKSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, AND I HAVE WITH ME, UH, RAY DE OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.
WE'RE INTRODUCING, UM, JACKSON COUNTY'S FETAL AND INFANT MORTALITY REVIEW, UM, PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHAT WE REFER TO AS FEMUR IN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND BRIDGET, DO YOU HAVE COPIES FOR THE COMMITTEE, OR I DID YOU NOT.
UM, AND REALLY WHAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS HOW THIS POSITIONS OUR COUNTY TO MOVE FROM REACTING TO INFANT DEATHS, TO PREVENTING THEM.
SO EVERY INFANT DEATH IS, UM, A TRAGEDY TO A FAMILY, AND FEMA REALLY ENSURES IT BECOMES A LESSON FOR OUR SYSTEM.
IN TWENTY TWENTY THREE, FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE INFANTS DIED IN MISSOURI.
AND EACH OF THOSE DEATH DEATHS REPRESENTS A FAMILY WHO WENT HOME WITHOUT A CHILD.
BUT FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE, EACH ONE OF THOSE REPRESENTS A MOMENT WHERE THE SYSTEM FAILED THEM, WHETHER IT BE HEALTHCARE ACCESS, TRANSPORTATION, FOLLOW UP CARE, UH, CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT, SAFE SLEEP EDUCATION, INFANT MORTALITY IS ONE OF THE CLEAREST INDICATORS OF HOW WELL A COMMUNITY SYSTEMS, HOW WELL COMMUNITY SYSTEMS ARE FUNCTIONING.
AND WHEN INFANTS DIE, IT'S RARELY DUE TO A SINGLE CAUSE.
IT'S OFTEN DUE TO LAYERED RISK FACTORS AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA AGAIN TALK ABOUT FEMUR.
IF YOU CAN DO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, AS WE LOOK AT THE DATA HERE IN 2024, JACKSON COUNTY'S INFANT MORTALITY RATE WAS 7.1 PER 1000.
THAT'S BOTH HIGHER THAN MISSOURI AND THE NATIONAL AVERAGE THAT YEAR.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A LONGSTANDING ISSUE FOR THE STATE OF MISSOURI WITH MISSOURI RANKING AMONG THE WORST STATES FOR INFANT MORTALITY FOR MOST OF THE PAST DECADE.
AND HERE IN JACKSON COUNTY, WE SEE SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES IN BOTH INFANT AND FETAL MORTALITY.
SO FOR INFANT MORTALITY, THE RATE FOR BLACK INFANTS IS 11.26 PER 1000 BIRTHS COMPARED TO 4.6 PER 1000 FOR WHITE BIRTHS.
THAT MEANS BLACK INFANTS ARE DYING, UH, APPROXIMATELY 2.4 TIMES, OR SORRY, BLACK INFANT ARE APPROXIMATELY 2.4 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE BEFORE THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY.
SO CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CAUSE FOR THAT, THE DIFFERENCE EVEN WITH JACKSON COUNTY, THE STATE OF MISSOURI? AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION IS, ARE THOSE, UH, CAN WE DRILL DOWN ON THOSE NUMBERS IN TERMS OF ZIP CODE IN JACKSON COUNTY? DO WE HAVE ZIP CODE LEVEL DATA? WE HAVE, WE HAVE SOME ZIP CODE LEVEL DATA, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, WITH LOWER CASE COUNTS, LOWER NUMBERS, UM, THE RATES, UM, DO SOMETHING FUNKY, SO TO SPEAK.
SO WE TRY TO KEEP IT AT A HIGHER LEVEL.
UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME ZIP CODES WHERE THERE ARE ENOUGH DEATHS, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A RATE, A STABLE RATE FOR PARTICULAR ZIP CODE.
AND THEN, UM, WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE CAUSE WHY WE'RE HIGHER THAN THE STATE OF MISSOURI? SO WE HAVE SOME RISK FACTORS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN HERE.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT A SINGLE DEFINED CAUSE.
THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF DIFFERENT RISKS THAT INTERACT.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE TRENDS IN A LITTLE BIT.
AND IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND SO, IF WE WERE TO ASSUME, UM, APPROXIMATELY 1500 BLACK BIRTHS ANNUALLY IN JACKSON COUNTY, THE DISPARITY BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE INFANT MORTALITY RATES TRANSLATES TO ROUGHLY 10 EXCESS INFANT DEATHS PER YEAR.
AND OVER FIVE YEARS, THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 50 CHILDREN, OR ROUGHLY TWO TO THREE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS OF CHILDREN WHO WOULD BE ALIVE IF THAT MORTALITY GAP WERE ELIMINATED.
AND THESE DIFFERENCES ARE NOT BIOLOGICAL.
THEY REFLECT DIFFERENCES IN MATERNAL HEALTH CONDITIONS, CHRONIC STRESS EXPOSURE, ACCESS TO CONSISTENT PRENATAL CARE, TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING STABILITY, AND HOW SYSTEMS RESPOND TO RISK.
THE MOST IMPORTANT, UM, POINT IN THIS IS MANY OF THESE DEATHS ARE PREVENTABLE.
AND PREVENTION DOES NOT HAPPEN THOUGH, UM, THROUGH AWARENESS ALONE.
IT REQUIRES STRUCTURED REVIEW OF THESE, UH, CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION AND SYSTEMS LEVEL ACTION.
SO I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IS FEMUR, UH, WHAT IS THIS PROCESS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? UH, FEMUR IS A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED MODEL BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR FATALITY REVIEW AND PREVENTION.
UM, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT FEMUR IS NOT.
IT'S NOT SIMPLY VITAL STATISTICS REPORTING.
WE'RE NOT JUST COUNTING DEATHS.
WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER MECHANISM TO COUNT
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DEATHS.UM, VITAL RECORDS TELL US WHAT HAPPENED MEDICALLY.
FEMUR ASKS WHY AND WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENTLY.
I CAN COMPARE THIS TO, UM, A, UH, AN AVIATION INVESTIGATION, RIGHT? WHEN A PLANE CRASHES, INVESTIGATIONS OR INVESTIGATORS DON'T STOP AT, OH, THERE WAS ENGINE FAILURE, RIGHT? THEY, UM, EXAMINE MAINTENANCE RECORDS.
WE WEATHER PATTERNS, STAFFING LEVELS, TRAINING PROTOCOLS, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, THEY EXAMINE EVERYTHING THAT TOUCHED UPON THAT PARTICULAR FLIGHT, FLIGHT OR PLANE.
FEMUR BRINGS THAT SAME LEVEL OF DISCIPLINE TO FETAL AND INFANT DEATHS.
IT ALLOWS US TO MOVE FROM, FROM TRAGEDY TO STRUCTURED PREVENTION.
SO FEMUR OPERATES THROUGH TWO COORDINATED TEAMS. THERE'S TWO COMPONENTS TO A FEMUR PROGRAM.
SO THE CASE REVIEW TEAM, THAT'S MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF, SOCIAL SERVICES, LAW ENFORCEMENT, ET CETERA, REVIEWS INDIVIDUAL CASES CONFIDENTIAL, CONFIDENTIALLY, AND IDENTIFIES SYSTEMS LEVEL THEMES.
OVERALL, IT IDENTIFIES THAT LOCAL CONTEXT TO JACKSON COUNTY.
THE SECOND TEAM IS THE COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM.
THIS INCLUDES LEADERS AND, UM, INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTHORITY AND RESOURCES WHO CAN IMPLEMENT CHANGE IN JACKSON COUNTY.
SO ONE OF THE SYSTEMS OR TEAMS DIAGNOSIS.
PLEASE ASK QUESTION OF COURSE.
UM, ANY DEATH THAT MET THE PARTICULAR CRITERIA THAT WAS ON THAT SLIDE.
UH, IT WILL REVIEW ALL OF THEM.
SO HOW THIS PROCESS WORKS, UM, CASES ARE REFERRED FROM THE STATE, UM, FOR MISSOURI RESIDENTS THAT ARE WITHIN OUR SERVICE, UH, JURISDICTION.
UH, WE WILL GATHER MEDICAL RECORDS, UM, AND SOMETIMES WHEN FAMILIES AGREE, UH, WE WILL CONDUCT VOLUNTARY INTERVIEWS WITH THOSE FAMILIES.
UH, THESE INTERVIEWS ARE OFTEN THE ONLY PLACE SYSTEMS GAPS BECOME VISIBLE OVERALL.
UM, AND THE REVIEW TEAM THAT THEN ANALYZES EACH CASE, UM, AND DEVELOPS PREVENTION ORIENTED RECOMME RECOMMENDATIONS.
OVERALL, THE COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM, ON THE OTHER HAND, TRANSLATES THOSE FINDINGS INTO CHANGE IN OTHER REGIONS ACROSS THE, THE, THE NATION FEMUR HAS LED TO IMPROVED HOSPITAL DISCHARGE, FOLLOW UP, SAFE SLEEP CAMPAIGNS, EXPANDED MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH REFERRALS.
UH, THIS IS WHERE THE DATA BECOMES ACTION OVERALL.
SO THIS IS, UM, THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED THROUGH A STATE CONTRACT.
UM, AND AS A RESULT, UH, JACKSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH SERVES AS THE REGIONAL HUB FOR 10 COUNTIES OVERALL, UM, CONSISTING OF WHAT YOU SEE AS MOST, UH, OR A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF WESTERN MISSOURI.
UM, THIS POSITIONS THE COUNTY AS A REGIONAL LEADER IN PREVENTION AND STANDARDIZES FETAL INFANT MORTALITY REVIEW ACROSS A WIDE SWATH OF THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI REGION.
SO, WHY PUBLIC HEALTH? WHY SHOULD PUBLIC HEALTH BE DOING THIS TYPE OF WORK? UM, FEMUR IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN IT'S COORDINATED THROUGH A PUBLIC HEALTH ENTITY OF SOME SORT.
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO SERVE AS NEUTRAL CONVENERS.
WE CAN BRING TOGETHER HOSPITALS, SOCIAL SERVICES, COMMUNITY, ADVOCATES, EMS, AND POLICY MAKERS AT ONE TABLE.
WE ALSO HAVE THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY TO ACCESS CONFIDENTIAL VITAL RECORDS AND PROTECTED HEALTH AND INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT ENSURES PRIVACY, COMPLIANCE, AND STANDARDIZATION OVERALL, BECAUSE OF HOW LARGE THIS REGION IS THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING CONSISTENCY MATTERS.
JUST AS IF WE WERE TALKING ABOUT JACKSON COUNTY, CONSISTENCY MATTERS ACROSS THE COMMUNITIES OF JACKSON COUNTY.
A STANDARDIZED METHODOLOGY ENSURES THAT CASES ARE REVIEWED EQUITABLY ACROSS URBAN, SUBURBAN, AND RURAL COMMUNITIES.
IT PREVENTS FRAGMENTATION, DUPLICATION, AND INEQUITIES THAT CAN SOMETIMES PERSIST THROUGH INEQUITABLE REVIEW PATTERNS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE ALLOWS FINDINGS TO TRANSLATE INTO SYSTEMS CHANGE AND NOT NECESSARILY JUST PROGRAMMATIC RESPONSE.
SOMETIMES THAT'S OUR GUT REACTION IS TO, TO ACT URGENTLY, WHICH WE SHOULD DO, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE LARGER SYSTEMS LEVEL CHANGES THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED.
SO, AS FAR AS A FEMUR PROGRAM FOR JACKSON COUNTY, UM, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, UM, JACKSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH WAS AWARDED A CONTRACT THROUGH THE STATE OF MISSOURI TO STAND UP THIS SYSTEM TO SUPPORT THIS 10 COUNTY REGION.
SO WITHIN A YEAR, WE BUILT THE FULL INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE WERE THE FASTEST IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI TO DO SO.
STAFF PROVIDING STAFFING, REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS,
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CASE INTAKE AND REVIEW PROCESSES, ALL TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AS SOON AS WE RECEIVED CASES FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI.AND IN FEBRUARY, THANKFULLY, UM, WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST BATCH OF CASES SO THAT WE CAN ENACT THIS CRITICAL PROGRAM.
SO, UM, AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE JUST RECENTLY RE RECEIVED CASES TO START THIS PROCESS.
UM, 22% OF THOSE CASES WERE ABSTRACTED.
SO, UM, MEANING THAT WE PULLED DATA FOR THEM.
UM, WE STARTED THAT PROCESS OF REVIEW, UM, AND WE ALSO COMPLETED OUR FIRST PATERNAL INTERVIEW, UM, RECENTLY.
BUT THIS PROCESS IS MORE THAN, AGAIN, JUST COLLECTING DATA OR JUST GOING THROUGH A STANDARDIZED PROCESS.
THIS FIRST PATERNAL INTERVIEW, UM, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE, WE WERE ABLE TO CONNECT THAT FAMILY TO A COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER, UM, DEMONSTRATING THAT FEMUR ALSO HAS THAT ABILITY TO CREATE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT PATHWAYS THAT ARE NECESSARY IN THIS VERY TRAUMATIC PROCESS.
SO, WHILE IT IS VERY EARLY TO IDENTIFY TRENDS LOCALLY, UM, HERE IN JACKSON COUNTY, NATIONAL DATA SHOWS CONSISTENT DRIVERS OF INFANT MORTALITY.
OVERALL FEED FEMUR ALLOWS US TO D DETERMINE HOW THOSE DRIVERS MANIFEST SPECIFICALLY IN JACK JACKSON COUNTY AND AFFECT OUR REGION OVERALL.
SO LET ME, UM, OFFER A COMP COMPOSITE EXAMPLE.
UH, NOT NECESSARILY LIKE A SINGLE CASE, BUT A PATTERN THAT WE SEE NATIONALLY.
SO A MOTHER WITH HYPERTENSION MISSES A PRENATAL APPOINTMENT BECAUSE TRANSPORTATION FALLS THROUGH, UM, HER CONDITION WORSENS.
THE BABY IS BORN PREMATURELY AND REQUIRES NICU CARE AFTER DISCHARGE.
SAFE SLEEP GUIDANCE IS GIVEN, BUT THERE'S NO CRIB IN THE HOME.
FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENTS ARE SCHEDULED, BUT NO REMINDER SYSTEM IS IN PLACE.
NO ONE SINGLE DECISION IN THAT ARC CAUSED THE DEATH.
BUT LAYERED SYSTEMS GAPS INCREASE THE RISK AT EVERY STAGE OF INTERACTION.
FEMUR EXISTS TO IDENTIFY THOSE PATTERNS THROUGH TRENDS AND FIX THEM.
SO IT WOULDN'T BE, UM, A PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM WITHOUT CHALLENGES.
UM, AND THOSE CHALLENGES ARE VERY REAL AND THEY EXIST.
UM, WE FACE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES, RECORD DELAYS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY MULTI-COUNTY COORDINATION IS DIFFICULT, BUT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL CONCERN RECENTLY IS THE PROPOSED 44% REDUCTION IN STATE FEMUR FUNDING IN THE FY 27 GOVERNOR'S BUDGET.
UM, A REDUCTION OF THAT MAGNITUDE DOES NOT ELIMINATE FE FEMUR.
IT DOES NOT ELIMINATE THE WORK THAT WE'VE SET FORTH, BUT IT SLOWS SIGNIFICANTLY AND SLOWER.
REVIEW MEANS SLOWER IDENTIFICATION OF THOSE PREVENTABLE PATTERNS THAT WE NEED TO REACT TO AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, PREVENTION DELAYED IS ULTIMATELY PREVENTION DENIED SOMETIMES.
SO, AS BRIDGET ALLUDED TO, UM, VERY EARLY ON, INFANT MORTALITY IS A LEADING INDICATOR OF COMMUNITY HEALTH.
IF YOU HAD TO, UM, DISTILL THE COMPLEXITY OF HEALTH, UM, TO A FEW INDICATORS, INFANT MORTALITY IS ONE OF THE EASIEST ONES TO DRAW A CONNECTION TO.
COMMUNITIES WITH LOWER INFANT MORTALITY TEND TO HAVE, UM, STRONGER SYSTEMS OVERALL.
UM, HEALTHCARE ACCESS, TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, HOUSING STABILITY, UM, REDUCING INFANT MOR MORTALITY OVERALL, UM, IS NOT ONLY A MORAL UM, RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE A FISCAL ONE AS WELL FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO OUR GOAL, UM, IN REGARDS TO NEXT STEPS IS TO REACH A SUSTAINABLE REVIEW PACE BY APRIL, UM, THE COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S THAT GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE COMING TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY HOW WE SOLVE SOME OF THESE PREVENTION GAPS.
WE'LL CONVENE THIS SPRING AND WE ANTICIPATE IDENTIFYING INITIAL TREND CLUSTERS WITHIN THE NE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
UM, FROM THERE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE TRANSPARENTLY PUT OUT TO, UM, THE COMMUNITY.
SO AS, AS BRIDGET MENTIONED, EARLY ON, EVERY SINGLE INFANT DEATH IS ABSOLUTELY TRAGIC.
BUT IF WE FAIL TO LEARN FROM THOSE DEATHS, IF WE FAIL TO EXAMINE OUR SYSTEMS, UM, THEN THE TRAGEDY WILL COMPOUND YEAR OVER YEAR OVER YEAR, JUST OF, AS WE'VE SEEN, UM, WITH THE KINDERGARTEN CLASSES.
EXAMPLE THAT HA THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING FOR DECADES NOW.
FEMUR ENSURES JACKSON COUNTY LEARNS, ADAPTS AND PREVENTS AND TAKES SYSTEMATIC STRUCTURED CHANGES THAT WILL HOPEFULLY MOVE THE NEEDLE ON THIS CRISIS.
AND WITH THAT, UM, THAT'S AN INTRODUCTION TO FEMUR AND WE'D WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD HAVE FOR US.
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WELL, THANK YOU FOR THIS, UH, VERY INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION ABOUT INFANT MORTALITY AND ITS EFFECTS IN JACKSON COUNTY.ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE? LEGISLATOR ANDERSON.
UH, COULD WE GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE? UH, FIRST OFF, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR DEDICATED HARD WORK AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM.
IT'S BEEN FANTASTIC TO SEE WHAT YOU ALL HAVE ADVOCATED FOR AND BROUGHT TO THE COUNTY OVER MY SEVEN YEARS HERE.
UM, BUT, UM, I, I THINK I, I WOULD BE REMISS IF WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT HOW, UM, YOUR BUDGET IS JUST NOT SUFFICIENT FOR TO, TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I WE MENTIONED THE, THE COUNTY OR THE STATE CUTTING 44%, WHICH I'M SO GLAD YOU ALL BROUGHT THAT UP, UH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN DIRECT OUR, UH, COUNTY LOBBYIST, UH, TO ADVOCATE AGAINST THIS 44% CUT.
UM, BUT ALSO, UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT THE LEGISLATURE NEEDS TO, UM, TRULY REEVALUATE HOW WE, UM, LOOK AT PUBLIC HEALTH IN AND OF ITSELF.
UH, UH, YOU, AGAIN, BOTH OF YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE COVID FIGHT, UH, WITH ME ON THIS, ON THIS, UH, IN THIS GOVERNMENT.
BUT, UM, WE TRULY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE FUNDING THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT GETS IS NOT ENOUGH.
AND LOOKING AT THIS PROGRAM HERE AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BUILD UP, UM, NOT ONLY STAFF, BUT TO HAVE DATA AND THAT DATA CAN'T BE DONE WITHOUT MONEY.
AND ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT TODAY, AND THAT YOU ALL ARE THE LEADER IN THIS FOR, UH, DID YOU SAY 10 COUNTIES? WAS THAT RIGHT? THAT 10 COUNTIES IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND WHAT, AND WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES AS A LEGISLATURE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IF 44% OF THE FUNDING IS CUT, UH, DO YOU HAVE, LIKE HOW MUCH DO YOU, AND I, WHAT I'D LOVE TO GET IS A COPY OF THE, UH, SLIDESHOW, BUT ALSO THE BREAKDOWN OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONIES THAT WE GET FROM THE STATE? AND IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE 44% CUT, HAS IT BEEN, UH, ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM CONVEYED, UH, WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN FOR US DIRECTLY, UH, SINCE WE ARE THE SECOND LARGEST REGION, SECOND LARGEST COUNTY IN THE STATE? UM, BUT MY QUESTION TO YOU ALL IS WHAT IF YOU WERE, AND I, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THIS RIGHT NOW, BUT I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, AND I'M SURE THE CHAIR AND MY COLLEAGUES WELCOME THIS.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO GET, UM, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE DATA, BUT ALSO HOW DO WE START TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO GET THAT NUMBER DOWN THAT PERCENTAGE? I KNOW THAT'S A BIG QUESTION, AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN JUST SNAP YOUR FINGERS, SAY, WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED AND BE DONE WITH IT.
BUT I WANT YOU ALL TO START THINKING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE HAVE THE BUDGET CHAIR HERE RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT NUMBER IS ATROCIOUS.
THAT THAT NUMBER IS THAT HIGH, AND THE FACT THAT BLACK FOLKS ARE FACING SUCH A TERRIBLE THING AND THAT FACT THAT IT'S BEEN ABLE TO STAY THAT WAY AND IT'S BEEN ABLE TO STAY THAT WAY FOR TOO LONG BECAUSE PEOPLE LOOK THE OTHER WAY.
AND SO, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
UM, BUT I JUST ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, REALLY, AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU PUT HOW THE LEGISLATURE CAN SUPPORT THIS WORK, THAT'S FANTASTIC.
WE ALL NEED TO READ THOSE FOUR POINTS, BUT I ALSO WANNA HAVE SOMETHING IN MY HAND TO SAY, THIS IS STEP ONE THAT WE CAN DO ON THIS LEGISLATURE.
UM, AND I KNOW, AGAIN, I'VE, I'VE UNDERSTOOD YOUR FUNDING CHALLENGES EVER SINCE I CAME ON.
UH, BUT HAVING SOMETHING IN OUR HANDS TO BE ABLE TO COMPREHEND AND TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM THAT'S HERE, BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT NUMBER, THAT, THAT PERCENTAGE IS JUST HEARTBREAKING IN AND OF ITSELF.
BUT I APPRECIATE BOTH OF YOU, UH, AND YOUR DEDICATED HARD WORK TO THIS.
I WOULD, I WOULD JUST ADD TOO, I THINK THAT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN PLANNING, UM, FROM YOUR STANDPOINT, BRIDGET, THAT IF WE CAN FIND A WAY, UM, TO PROVIDE SOME SORT OF TIMELINE, RIGHT? SO IT'S LIKE, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE A PLAN, BUT LIKE SORT OF LIKE A TIMELINE OF WHAT NEEDS TO OCCUR, UM, FROM A POLICY AND PRACTICE STANDPOINT MM-HMM
UH, AND I WOULD ALSO SAY TOO, IT MIGHT EVEN BE HELPFUL IF WE FIND SOME SORT OF COLLABORATIVE, NOT JUST WITH, I KNOW YOU SAID YOU'RE WORKING WITH OTHER COUNTIES IN THE AREA, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT OUR PARTNERS, UM, AND OUR FQHCS AND OUR, UM, OUR HOSPITAL SYSTEMS. HOW DO WE GET EVERYBODY TO THE TABLE THAT PROVIDES HEALTHCARE AND OUR CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AS WELL IN JACKSON COUNTY.
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OF ALL MOVING LOCKSTEP IN THE SAME DIRECTION, ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM, BUT EVERYBODY'S WORKING ON THE SAME STEP TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY, UM, SORT OF LOOKING TO YOU TO PROVIDE SORT OF THAT COORDINATION.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE GOAL OF THE COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IS HOW DO WE BRING THOSE PARTNERS THAT ARE WORKING IN THIS SPACE TOGETHER TO DEVELOP THAT PLAN OF ACTION.
UH, WELL THANK YOU FOR COMING.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU, UH, NEXT QUARTER.
AND, UH, I THINK WE DON'T HAVE ANY ORDINANCE
[ORDINANCES IN COMMITTEE]
[RESOLUTIONS IN COMMITTEE]
OR RESOLUTIONS AS A COMMITTEE.SO I WILL CONCLUDE OUR MEETING AT 2 42.