“There are over 700 zip codes in the state of Indiana,” said Keynote speaker Dr. Jerome Adams, at the Friday Feb. 17 Infant Mortality Summit.
“Of the 500 babies who die every year, over half of them are in just 10 of those zip codes. So over 50 percent of the infant mortality is occurring in less than 2 percent of the zip codes in Indiana.”
One of those zip codes is 47713 in Evansville. Neighborhoods include Glenwood, Old Eerie and Haynie’s Corner.
Disparities revealed by facts like these are one of the central topics of the inaugural Vanderburgh County Infant Mortality Summit hosted by the Vanderburgh County Health Department.
“This is a huge complex issue that we all have to be a part of, of trying to solve, it's going to take a village, it's going to take a community,” Said Administrator Joe Gries. “So we've invited political figures, we've invited people, you know, from the hospitals, from also local businesses, you know, faith based organizations.”
Several speakers are featured, most leading the way in the medical community. These included Sophie French, Pastor Timothy Simmons, Dr. Thomas Stratton, Dr. Karenrose Contreras, Karen McKeown and Dr. Grace Esan.
Hundreds attended at the Old National Events Plaza, including medical providers, social service agencies and faith-based groups.
Contreras of Tri-State Perinatology in Newburgh talked about starting prenatal care as early as possible, during the panel discussion.
“Anybody who knows somebody who's wanting a family, just make tell them please plan for their pregnancy.”
This can include taking prenatal vitamins, follic acid and keeping up on medications. Doctor Thomas Stratton of Echo Community Healthcare spoke about racial inequities in healthcare.
Even educated black women are far more likely to lose a child. In 2021, Indiana averaged about 6.5 infant deaths per 1000 births. Vanderburgh County is 5.2. The infant mortality rate for African Americans is more than triple the average, at 17.9 deaths per 1000.
“So as to the wider persistence of disparities, we have to be in conversation with each other, we have to be examining ourselves and holding ourselves accountable, we must recognize that how we've been doing things is the status quo,” Stratton said. “And the 'status quo' is just the latest day in centuries of injustice.”
Dr. Jerome Adams was the U.S. Surgeon General from 2017 to 2020. He is now Executive Director of Purdue's Health Equity Initiatives. He said about 500 babies die every year — and most of those are babies of color.
“We need to continue to be better at targeting our resources to the people and places that need it the most,” he said. “We got $13 million from the state for infant mortality when I was state health commissioner; that sounds like a whole lot of money. (however) you take $13 million and you divide it by 700 zip codes. All of a sudden that 13 million doesn't go very far.”
The implication is that zip code with higher infant mortality — like 47713 — should receive more funding than zip codes with lower numbers.
The statistics shared by the speakers shocked Kathryn Kornblum-Zelle with Parenting Time Center, the supervised visitation safe exchange center for inmates and their families.
“The amount of medical help that we have in this country, it's just shocking to me that we have mothers dying babies dying.”
She said she’ll take this knowledge and start sharing it with families, which include pregnant women.
Healthcare struggles for pregnant women resonated with Kerseclia Terry-Patterson who suffered with gestational hypertension, or preeclampsia.
“It just so solidified what I went through, and my experiences were validated.”
Overall, Gries hopes to spread the word about this problem and engage with community partners for additional funding for programs like their Pre to 3 program, which offers support for expectant mothers and children up to age 3.
“We all have to come together and be able to have these conversations that may be pretty difficult, find ways to improve in all aspects from hospitals, to the health department to local community organizations, you know, faith-based organizations, we need everybody.”
Gries said this could become an annual event, but those discussions will occur later.