It’s not a new problem, but St. Joseph County public health officials are seeking a new way to tackle it.
Despite years of public education efforts, the fact remains: Compared with other parts of Indiana, far too many babies in the area never live to see their first birthdays.
The health department recently applied for a state grant to fund a program addressing the county’s infant mortality rate, which continues to rise, especially among blacks.
The rate measures the number of babies who die in their first year of life per 1,000 live births. St. Joseph County’s rate has risen from 4.2 in 2011 to 6.5 in 2012, 8.2 in 2013 and 8.5 in 2014, according to the department’s annual reports.
By comparison, the statewide rate is 7.7.
The rate among blacks is much higher. From 2011 through 2013, the average rate for whites in the county was 3.8. For blacks, it was nearly four times as high, at 14.5.
While that has dropped dramatically from the 30.1 rate in 2006, its contrast with the white rate is still problematic, the health department told the Indiana State Department of Health in its grant request, which seeks $50,000 — $25,000 per year to fund a part-time program director.
County interim health officer Dr. Dale Deardorff said it’s time for some answers.
“We’re not sure what’s happened,” Deardorff said of the county’s overall rate more than doubling in four years. “Something drastic has happened and we really need to understand it.”
The program, called Fetal Infant Mortality Review, would include graduate-level nursing students at Indiana University South Bend gathering case data whenever a baby or fetus dies. The program would examine social, economic, cultural, health, safety and systems issues related to the death and determine local factors for improvements in the system.