 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Patricia McManus, PhD, RN, Milwaukee Healthy Beginnings Project, Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin, 2801 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208, 414 933-0064, BHCPMc@aol.com and Alice Alm, Honoring Our Children With A Healthy Start, Great Lakes Intertribal Council, P.O. Box 9, 2932 Highway 47 North, Lac Du Flambeau, WI 54538.
“The Gathering” Fostering State Wide MCH Collaboration In Reducing Infant Mortality among Communities of Color
Funded by the HRSA Healthy Start Initiative and strongly supported by the Wisconsin MCH Title V Program, the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Intertribal Council collaborated across cultures and living locations (urban and rural) to host the first “Gathering”. Unlike a typical conference, this event was designed for and by families who believe and practice community driven, culturally competent, family centered principled. Fifty families (125 adults and children), comprising urban African Americans and Latinos from the Inner city of Milwaukee and American Indians from 9 rural tribes in Northern Wisconsin joined together for two and one half days in July 1999. During this time they celebrated their cultures networked among themselves, shared information, informed MCH providers and policy makers regarding critical issues concerning their families. They were joined by forty (40) agency staff, health providers and policy makers, The sessions were almost exclusively conducted by family members themselves with staff from the agencies serving as technical advisors only. Providers engaged in dialogue during the sessions, but there were no “expert” panels or speeches. This unique event has created a forum in which families felt supported and valued. The Gathering is a vital strategy for reducing infant mortality among communities of color. The collaboration between these two organizations has resulted in the development of a Statewide Ethnic Network working on Tobacco Control Issues with Hispanic and Southeast Asian agencies.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Access and Services, Cultural Competency
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.