A newly-formed coalition of local organizations and community members is working collaboratively to address infant mortality in the Lord Fairfax Health District. This coalition of local agencies and community members, Shenandoah University and the Lord Fairfax Health District will host a Workshop on Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUIDS) in Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium (600 Millwood Avenue, Winchester, Va.) on the campus of Shenandoah University. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required, and a certificate of training will be issued to all attendees.
Workshop speakers will feature Emily Womble, M.P.A., child fatality review coordinator for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at the Virginia Department of Health, and Sharon Veith, R.N., M.S.N., perinatal outreach coordinator for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia. Both will speak on current trends in SUIDS as well as provide recommendations and methods for community outreach.
“SUIDS remains a leading cause of infant mortality in our community,” said Sara Schoonover-Martin, executive director, Healthy Families Northern Shenandoah Valley. “This workshop will allow us to share the most up-to-date recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics on safe infant sleep practices which will help to reduce the incidence of SUIDS/SIDS in our community. There is new information that we want to share with healthcare providers and advocates in social services, non-profit agencies, law enforcement, policy-makers, childcare providers as well as interested community members.”
The workshop is supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awarded to Shenandoah University.
To register for the workshop, contact jmidkiff@valleyhealthlink.com or call 540/536-4113 by Wednesday, Feb. 12. For questions or inquiries, please call the Lord Fairfax Health District 540/722-3480.
