Healthy Start

A FEW YEARS AGO the federal government took an unusually bold risk on a social issue.It decided to get serious about reducing the nation's shamefully high infant-mortality rate and set a goal for reducing it. The Healthy Start program was charged with reducing infant deaths by 50 percent over five years.Building on local health initiatives, Baltimore applied to be one of the nation's 15 Healthy Start demonstration cities. The proposal was successful, winning for the city millions of dollars in federal .. funds -- and, equally important, accountability for actually making a difference in infant health in the city's targeted areas.

At a time when some cash-strapped states are contemplating reducing Medicaid coverage, Maryland has boldly moved in the opposite direction. Today marks the first anniversary of a program that has brought taxpayer-financed medical assistance to more than 44,000 low-income parents, the vast majority of whom lacked health care before. That's nearly 20,000 more people than advocates had expected to enroll by now, and it's one of the more significant accomplishments of Gov. Martin O'Malley's term in office.

Baltimore's Healthy Start program, which works with pregnant women to reduce the infant mortality rate, is expanding its program with the help of a $5 million annual federal grant that should help counsel about 2,000 families a year.Thomas P. Coyle, executive director of Healthy Start, said the money will allow his program to expand from the Sandtown-Winchester community in West Baltimore to two other poor neighborhoods -- Harlem Park in West Baltimore and Middle East in East Baltimore.The program, which has been in operation for three years, counsels pregnant women on substance abuse, prenatal care, nutrition and child care, said Mr. Coyle, who is also an assistant city health commissioner.

Reya Johnson sat in her living room with her 15-month-old daughter Andrea, a bright-eyed child who couldn't stop smiling. They sang nursery rhymes and played pitty-pat, tapping their palms lightly together. Ms. Johnson, 38, was showing Peggy White, a caseworker from Baltimore's Healthy Start initiative, the progress Andrea had made since her last visit. Healthy Start helps pregnant women and new mothers with counseling, medical care and other services. Ms. White watched as Andrea eagerly pretended to read a colorful brochure and recited rhymes with her mother.

Vice President Al Gore presented an unexpected gift to a program for teen-age fathers when he visited Baltimore this week -- the $500,000 it needs to stay alive.Gore pledged another year of funding for the Baltimore Healthy Start Men's Services Program in a private meeting Tuesday night with Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a 7th District Democrat.Cummings said that he made the program a priority in a 15-minute sales pitch he made when he buttonholed Gore before the vice president sat down to a dinner with Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and other political figures Tuesday night.

Keishaun Watson was the first to show up. She brought along her week-old daughter, Kaeden, who dozed in a Winnie-the-Pooh stroller. Next came Sierra Watkins with an equally new-to-this-world infant, a boy named Tyree. The two mothers were soon joined by about a dozen other women, all from East Baltimore and all in various stages of pregnancy or motherhood. Some hoisted chubby-cheeked toddlers over their heads, some cooed over sleeping infants, and some patted bulging bellies. The women -- and one stoic dad -- gathered yesterday at a city Healthy Start clinic not far from Johns Hopkins Hospital to talk about one thing: nursing, how to do it, why it is important, and how to tell pesky relatives that the bottle is not an option.

The Baltimore state's attorney is conducting a criminal and civil investigation into possible misuse of funds by officials for a highly touted federal program that aids poor pregnant women and their babies.Dr. Peter Beilenson, city health commissioner, confirmed yesterday that his department in the last month discovered spending discrepancies in the $3.2 million-a-year Healthy Start program and turned over the information to the office of city State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy.Details of the allegations were not provided.

Despite the discovery of millions of dollars in unpaid bills and more than $750,000 in improper expenditures, no criminal charges will be brought in a more than yearlong investigation of a federally funded Baltimore program to help needy pregnant women. Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Ritter confirmed yesterday that she had informed the board of Baltimore's Healthy Start program at a meeting Tuesday of the decision not to seek indictments in the case. "At this time, we've declined prosecution because there is nothing to act on," Ritter said.

The race for the 8th Congressional District seat in Montgomery County is on pace to be one of the most expensive in the nation, with the incumbent and her two challengers having raised more than $1 million each, financial disclosure reports filed yesterday show. While candidates in Baltimore County's 2nd District haven't been able to match those figures, fund raising in that race - which got under way three months ago - has also gotten off to a healthy start, with County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger reporting more than $460,000 in donations, more than twice as much as the leading Republican, former U.S. Rep. Helen Delich Bentley.

IMAGINE MEDICAL researchers pinpointing a dozen drugs that might show promise in fighting cancer. They devise a test in which Mne drug produces tantalizing results. Would the headlines read: ''Anti-cancer tests fail''?Not likely. But that is what has happened in a bizarre turn of events involving the leak of a preliminary evaluation of a federal effort to reduce infant mortality and low birth-weight babies.''Top federal officials have barred researchers from releasing a report indicating that the government's most ambitious and expensive effort to reduce infant mortality may not be achieving its goal,'' said the Philadelphia Inquirer in a Nov. 12 story.

A pregnant 17-year-old in a disheveled apartment who says her first baby died last year. An obese woman in her 20s who fights violently with her neighbors despite being five months pregnant. A 19-year-old woman with a month-old infant strapped to her stomach who wanders the streets all day because she's afraid to return to her grandmother's home where she witnessed a gruesome murder last week. These are the faces of the public health crisis in Baltimore that is the city's tragic infant mortality rate.

COLLEGE PARK - Coach Ralph Friedgen won't commit to starting senior quarterback Jordan Steffy in Saturday's game at Middle Tennessee State, which means Maryland's on-again, off-again quarterback controversy is back on. Part of the uncertainty is over Steffy's health. The graduate student, who regained the job in the preseason after losing it when he suffered a concussion last year, injured his thumb in Saturday's 14-7 season-opening victory against Delaware. The thumb will be X-rayed today.

It makes good sense: Give a low-income pregnant woman intensive care and support and make sure she gets proper nutrition - and her baby will be healthier at birth with a lower probability of developmental problems. That's the aim of Healthy Start, a federally funded program with 100 projects across the country, including one in Baltimore. But reauthorization of the program has been languishing in Congress since 2005. Legislation that would give Healthy Start, which saves money and lives, more time and perhaps more money is finally moving and deserves to pass sooner rather than later.

Keishaun Watson was the first to show up. She brought along her week-old daughter, Kaeden, who dozed in a Winnie-the-Pooh stroller. Next came Sierra Watkins with an equally new-to-this-world infant, a boy named Tyree. The two mothers were soon joined by about a dozen other women, all from East Baltimore and all in various stages of pregnancy or motherhood. Some hoisted chubby-cheeked toddlers over their heads, some cooed over sleeping infants, and some patted bulging bellies. The women -- and one stoic dad -- gathered yesterday at a city Healthy Start clinic not far from Johns Hopkins Hospital to talk about one thing: nursing, how to do it, why it is important, and how to tell pesky relatives that the bottle is not an option.

The fall sports slate, and indeed, the entire 2006-07 athletic schedule is under way in earnest, but the first big potential save of the year has yet to take place, and it has nothing to do with soccer or field hockey goalies. That's because school systems around the state are now required to have automated external defibrillators in each high school, and that includes within close proximity to the playing field. During the last legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation to bring Maryland into line with states such as New York and New Jersey in requiring the lifesaving apparatus in all high schools.

Catholic girls soccer coach Eric Loftus saw the first big improvement on the first day of practice -- everyone showed up healthy. A year ago, the Cubs were never at full power. Injuries kept almost every girl sidelined for at least a few games. By the third week, the Cubs had to play the second half against eventual Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champion John Carroll with just 10 players. It especially hurt to lose striker Claudia Furman for eight games with a knee injury and center midfielder Steph Parker for a few games with nagging ailments.

People in Sandtown-Winchester know Sheila Washington, and know she won't burn her sources. So she hears everything: Who's dropped out, who's smoking crack, who's been fighting, who's in jail - and most important, who's expecting. Most days Miss Sheila, as almost everyone calls her, trolls the neighborhood, scouting. She talks to the ladies braiding hair on stoops, the old men sitting on rickety porches, the glaring drug dealers standing on corners - anyone who might know someone who's got a baby on the way. "Where the pregnant ladies at?"

It makes good sense: Give a low-income pregnant woman intensive care and support and make sure she gets proper nutrition - and her baby will be healthier at birth with a lower probability of developmental problems. That's the aim of Healthy Start, a federally funded program with 100 projects across the country, including one in Baltimore. But reauthorization of the program has been languishing in Congress since 2005. Legislation that would give Healthy Start, which saves money and lives, more time and perhaps more money is finally moving and deserves to pass sooner rather than later.

After Hours Mixer set for tomorrow The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce will hold an After Hours Mixer from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Chart House, 300 2nd St., Annapolis. The event will provide participants an opportunity to celebrate the holidays and network with fellow chamber members. The cost is $10 for advance payment, $15 at the door and $25 for nonmembers. Information: 410-266-3960. DoodleSport.com aimed at dog lovers Amy Vansant Brunell, chief executive of Vansant Creations Web Development, has designed and launched a new Web site for dog lovers, Doodle Sport.

People in Sandtown-Winchester know Sheila Washington, and know she won't burn her sources. So she hears everything: Who's dropped out, who's smoking crack, who's been fighting, who's in jail - and most important, who's expecting. Most days Miss Sheila, as almost everyone calls her, trolls the neighborhood, scouting. She talks to the ladies braiding hair on stoops, the old men sitting on rickety porches, the glaring drug dealers standing on corners - anyone who might know someone who's got a baby on the way. "Where the pregnant ladies at?"