Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

TOPEKA — Because government dollars are lacking, members of the state's Blue Ribbon Panel on Infant Mortality agreed today to seek private funding for their efforts to reduce Kansas' high infant death rate.

Today, the panel members — 16 health workers, state officials and child advocates — decided to pursue private dollars to fund the the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, or PRAMS, after news last month that Kansas would not receive a federal grant to underwrite the program.

"The consensus or the feeling I get here today is that we not give up on PRAMS and we go ahead and look for alternative funding," said Dr. Dennis Cooley, a Topeka pediatrician and the panel's chairman. "I think everyone's in agreement that the data from PRAMS is helpful and it does guide us in the ways we approach infant mortality in the state...I think this has jumped up in priority."

Kansas currently ranks among the worst U.S. states — 40th — with 7 infant deaths per 1,000 births.

The state's death rate for black infants is the worst in the nation at 19.6 per 1,000, according to the National Center for Vital Statistics.

State officials say before launching targeted programs aimed at bringing down the death rate they need to better understand the causes. That's where PRAMS is intended to help. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives grants to state agencies to survey mothers about health and environment factors during their pregnancies.

Kansas applied for a PRAMS grant of $153,393 in January but was denied on a technicality along with five other states, said Linda Kenney, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment official who oversaw the application process.

The funding cycle for the program is every five years, so Kansas cannot apply again until 2015, she said.

State policymakers are intent on cutting budgets, so there is little expectation that the state would step in to fund the full cost of the survey.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ribbon panel members discussed several potential funding sources:

• Private foundations such as the Kansas Health Foundation, the Sunflower Foundation and the United Methodist Health Ministries Fund;

• Businesses such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, Wal-Mart, Dillons, Boeing or Capital Federal Savings;

• National businesses such as Graco or other makers of infant supplies;

• Hospitals;

• Additional fees on birth certificates.

Panel member Paul Getto, who represents the Kansas Association of School Boards, said he thought hospitals would be particularly interested in helping fund PRAMS and the panel's work to reduce infant deaths as well as premature births.

"With data collection and this kind of strategic thinking, if you can avoid just one preemie (premature baby) you can pay for this," Getto said. "Difficult preemies can be $1 million-plus just to get them home...not to mention health complications for the rest of their life."

Panelists Jamie Kim and Carol Moyer said that other states had initially funded PRAMS without federal support.

"Then they had a better chance of getting funded (with federal grants) because they had demonstrated they could do it," Kim said.

Kenney said her office determined the PRAMS program could cost upwards of $300,000 a year. That would pay for a coordinator, a data manager, and materials — including at least 2,500 copies of the 50-page survey.

Much of the cost would stem from trying to get the mothers to return the survey. Surveys would be mailed out up to three times. Mothers who still did not reply would be turned over to a phone survey company that would try calling them up to 15 times. The goal would be to have at least 60 percent of the surveys completed and returned.

Kenney said she also had budgeted $30,000 for incentives such as $20 gift certificates to encourage mothers to reply the first time.

"This thing is pricey," Kenney said. "And the amount of funds that the CDC is willing to provide (in the event it awards a grant) is maybe half of it."

Kenney said KDHE had been prepared to make up the other half internally had Kansas received the federal PRAMS grant.

"We would reallocate existing resources to make up the difference — staff time and money, both. And/or go out and do what we've talked about — foundation support," Kenney said. "States are very creative in putting together their programs, and we need to be that way, too."