March of Dimes Announces: New Position Available for NICU Family Support Specialist

The Oklahoma Chapter of the March of Dimes announced June 27th, 2006 that they are seeking a NICU Family Support Specialist. The purpose of the position is to develop and implement informational, educational, emotionally supportive and inspirational March of Dimes (MOD) programs to families of NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care) babies and to NICU staff within the NICU setting. This is a part-time position (up to 30 hours); some evening or weekend work may be required. Position is primarily housed in the hospital near the NICU, but some time at the March of Dimes office will be required.

The position requires:

· A Master’s Degree in Social Work, Education, Public Health or related field; or License to practice as a registered neonatal nurse.

· 1-3 years of work experience delivering services to parents and families in a NICU or other inpatient pediatric settings or be a parent who has experienced having an infant in the NICU.

· Basic knowledge of the emotional and medical issues inherent in a NICU hospitalization.

· Demonstrated ability to easily and sensitively engage parents, families and staff in order to assist in the smooth welcoming of MOD programs, services and materials.

· A dynamic, energetic, empathic individual who enjoys working, providing support to and collaborating with many different types of individuals, families, disciplines, medical personnel and organizations in an intensive care setting.

· Must be willing to be flexible in work hours, as some evenings and weekends will be required.

For more information contact:

Belinda Rogers, DPS
Oklahoma State Chapter
5100 N. Brookline, Suite 270
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
(405) 943-1025 or
brogers@marchofdimes.com

Mark Your Calendars and Spread the Word:
Upcoming Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Event

Postpartum Depression:

A Discussion with Postpartum Support of Oklahoma

July 27th, 2006

1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m

United Methodist Ministry Center

Topics will include:

• The Range of Postpartum Mood Reactions
  
• Information on Free CEU's for MD's
  
• Examples of Postpartum Depression Treatment Programs
  
• Current Infanticide Law and the Status of the Andrea Pia Yates Retrial
  
• Nutritional Approaches to Treating Postpartum Depression
  
• New Jersey's Senate Bill 2908

For more information contact:

Bonnie Bellah

405-236-5437x108

bonnieb@oica.org

Registration forms will be available soon. If you are interested in receiving a registration form by email please contact Bonnie and let her know.

Presumptive Eligibility and the New Requirement for Verification of U.S. Citizenship

With the new requirements for verification of citizenship beginning July 1st, 2006, many perinatal stakeholders across Oklahoma have wondered- Does the new requirement include women who are applying for Presumptive eligibility (PE)? The answer coming out of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is no. Women will not need to provide proof of citizenship when applying for PE benefits, but, PE benefits are temporary and the benefits it provides are limited.

The PE program is designed to allow pregnant women to apply for benefits and begin receiving prenatal care while her Traditional SoonerCare application is being reviewed. The time period for PE benefits can be up to 45 days, but may end sooner if the Department of Human Services determines the woman to be ineligible for benefits. If, after review of the application, receipt of any requested documentation by DHS and if they determine that the pregnant woman qualifies for the full scope of benefits, the woman would then transition into Traditional SoonerCare. As of now, proof of citizenship will need to take place during this time in order to transition into Traditional SoonerCare.

Details about how Oklahoma will institute the new citizenship requirement have not been released yet, but a joint statement issued June 23rd by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Department of Human Services states "Regarding proof of citizenship for Medicaid eligibility, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services are creating procedures to comply with federal law. Once a process is prepared, the agencies will inform current and potential SoonerCare (Medicaid) members regarding the new requirements for eligibility determination. We will not take any action that creates unnecessary delays or denials of access to care for U.S. citizens or other legal persons."

PRAMSGRAM :
Unintended Pregnancy

Unintended pregnancy has typically been defined as pregnancy that is either mistimed or unwanted at conception. Mistimed is generaly defined as "a pregnancy that is desired later in life but not at conception" and unwanted is defined as "not wanted then or at any time in the future". The most recent national figures show that approximately 49% of pregnancies are unintended in the United States and about 31 % of pregnancies resulting in a live birth are unintended. The Healthy People 2010 goal is to increase the proportion of pregnancies that are intended to at least 70%

The most recent PRAMSGRAM from the Oklahoma State Department of Health describes the characteristics of women with live births in Oklahoma who reported unintended pregnancies between 2000 and 2003.

In Oklahoma:

• Thirty-seven percent of women did not want to become pregnant at the time they became pregnant.
  
• Approximately thirty percent of women did not mind becoming pregnant at the time of conception.
  
• Only 35.1% of mothers indicated that their pregnancies were intended at conception.
  
• Unintended pregnancies were most common among women who were less than 20 years of age, African American, unmarried, had less than a high school education, or were low income and received Medicaid funded services.
  
• Almost two-thirds of all women reporting unintended pregnancies utilized Medicaid funds for pernatal and/or delivery care.

(Source: Oklahoma PRAMSGRAM- Spring2006)

For a full copy of the PRAMSGRAM on Unintended Pregnany contact the Oklahoma Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition at 405.236.5437 x108

For copies of archived PRAMSGRAMS visit http://www.health.state.ok.us/program/mchp&e/pramarch.html