MONTGOMERY-The National Governors Association (NGA) selected Alabama as one of five states to participate in a Learning Network on Improving Birth Outcomes in the United States.
The goal of the learning network is to assist states in developing, aligning and implementing their key policies and initiatives related to the improvement of birth outcomes, as measured by the incidence of preterm births and infant mortality. NGA will convene in-state sessions with the selected states to facilitate this process as well as a networking conference for those states to share lessons learned and improve their planning processes.
“I am excited about the opportunity for Alabama to participate in NGA’s Learning Network on Improving Birth Outcomes,” said
Robert Bentley
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. “I am encouraged to see that NGA is recognizing a significant and growing public health challenge.”
The learning network will focus on demonstrated best practices of states with improved birth outcomes. Activities including an in-state conference in January are being planned. This conference will provide an opportunity for participants to learn about coordinating activities across agencies and available options to accelerate the pace of improving outcomes and reducing costs. In total, 13 states have participated in this learning network. This is the third and final opportunity for states to participate in this initiative.
Other states selected in this round of training were Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey and Virginia. The initiative is part of the Alliance for Information on Maternal and Child Health Services (AIM). AIM is sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
