Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health Friday Notes July 18, 2014

July 18, 2014

In this issue
Healthy Michigan Plan Surpasses First-year Enrollment Goal
Study: Factors in Sleep-related Deaths Vary for Older, Younger Babies
E-cigarette Bills Still on Hold, Tobacco Tax Change Proposed

Healthy Michigan Plan Surpasses First-year Enrollment Goal of 322,000

After less than four months, enrollment for the Healthy Michigan Plan already has surpassed its first-year goal of 322,000.

As of July 10 there were 323,022 Michigan residents enrolled in the program. The Healthy Michigan Plan extends health care benefits to a half-million low-income residents.

In a statement Governor Snyder commended the Michigan departments of Community Health (MDCH), Human Services (DHS) and Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB) for their leadership in implementing the Healthy Michigan Plan, and the host of health and human services and business organizations for the help and hard work in spreading the word and helping Michiganders enroll.

"Enrolling more than 322,000 people shows that Michiganders are ready to make positive changes for their health and their communities," said MDCH Director James K. Haveman. "Reaching our goal ahead of schedule is great news for the physical and financial health of our state. Thank you to our business and health care partners for helping us meet the demand in our communities."

MDCH, DHS and DTMB continue to monitor systems, but overall, enrollment continues to go smoothly. Of the 323,022 new enrollees, more than 230,000 already have enrolled in a Medicaid health plan.

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Study: Factors in Sleep-related Deaths Vary for Older, Younger Babies

In a new study in the August 2014 Pediatrics, "Sleep Environment Risks for Younger and Older Infants," published online July 14, researchers studied sleep-related infant deaths from 24 states from 2004-2012 in the case reporting system of the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths.

Cases were divided by younger (0-3 months) and older (4 months to one year) infants. In a total of 8,207 deaths analyzed, majority of the infants (69 percent) were bed-sharing at the time of death.

Fifty-eight percent were male, and most deaths occurred in non-Hispanic whites.

Younger infants were more likely bed-sharing (73.8 percent vs. 58.9 percent), sleeping on an adult bed or on/near a person, while older infants were more likely found prone with objects, such as blankets or stuffed animals in the sleep area.

An object found in the sleep environment was associated to one-third of deaths. Objects in the sleep environment included blanket, pillow, bumper pads, hard furniture, stuffed toy, non-stuffed toy, clothing, small, soft fabric items, cord, bag other and unknown.

A higher percentage of deaths occurred in the older group who had at least one object in the sleep environment (39.4% vs 33.5%) The only objects found in over 10% of deaths were blankets (24.55%) and pillows (17.6%).

Deaths in the older group were significantly more likely to be associated with the presence of blankets (26.8% vs 23.5%), stuffed toys (2.4% vs 1.2%), bags (1.2% vs 0.3%), hard furniture 0.3% vs 0.1%) and cords (0.2% vs 0.0%).

There were no differences between the two age groups for the presence of pillows, bumper pads, non-stuffed toys, clothing, or other objects.

In their conclusion the researchers write "Risk factors for sleep-related infant deaths may be different for different age groups. The predominant risk factor for younger infants is bed-sharing, whereas rolling into objects in the sleep area is the predominant risk factor for older infants. Parents should be warned about the dangers of these specific risk factors appropriate to their infant's age."

"Although the American Academy of Pediatrics advises that infants do not need to be repositioned onto their backs if they roll into the prone position, parents should be reminded that cribs should be clear of any objects, so that if the infant rolls, there is no risk of rolling into something that may create an asphyxia environment", write the researchers in their discussion.

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E-cigarette Bills Still on Hold, Tobacco Tax Change Proposed

While bills dealing with e-cigarettes passed by the House and Senate still have not presented to Governor Snyder, this week Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville introduced legislation that would include e-cigarettes and alternative nicotine products as smokeless tobacco, and institute a tax on the products.

As written, the legislation establishes a 15 cent per 1.5 milliliters and proportionate rate on all fractions of 1.5 milliliters tax on vapor products.  Senate Bill 1018 also would change how loose tobacco, or "moist snuff," is taxed, moving it out of the 32 percent rate and instead taxing it at the rate of 53 cents per ounce.

Additionally, the tobacco distributors who collect the tax would see their cut of those revenues rise from 1 percent to 1.5 percent.

The legislation comes amid a stalemate between Governor Rick Snyder and the Legislature on separate bills that would bar the sale of e-cigarettes to minors but not treat them like other tobacco products. Both the House and the Senate ordered enrolled their respective legislation (HB 4997, SB 667 and SB 668) on e-cigarettes prior to breaking for summer recess, but none of the bills have been presented to Governor Snyder.

MCMCH continues to urge members and fellow public health advocates to contact Governor Snyder and ask him to support classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products. The new bill proposed is another positive move for the tobacco industry, reducing the tax on some tobacco products and not addressing the overriding issue of protection of public health and discouraging the use of tobacco by minors.

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Contributors to this Issue Gongwer News Service HealthDay Pediatrics __________________________________________________________

Quick Links . . .

CHW Program Survey 2014

In coordination with the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Michigan Public Health Training Center, the Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance launched a statewide Community Health Worker Program Survey last month. This survey will close July 21, 2014. All CHW program managers and supervisors are encouraged to take the survey, available here.

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Moving Toward Solutions Conference: August 17-19

The 7th Annual Moving Toward Solutions: Addressing Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Michigan Conference will be held August 17-19 at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest. The deadline for the early bird registration is August 11 and for the discounted hotel rate it is July 28. More information and online registration is available here.

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Register Now for Tomorrow's Child Jungle Jubilee Events, August 9 in Detroit, October 4 in Lansing

The Tomorrow's Child Jungle Jubilee at the Detroit Zoo will be held Saturday, August 9, from 7 a.m. - noon, and at Potter Park zoo in Lansing on Saturday, October 4, featuring a 5K Run/Walk at 9 a.m. More information and registration or both events is available here.

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Michigan Home Visiting Conference, August 5-7

The August 2014 Michigan Home Visiting Conference will be held August 5-7 at the Adoba Hotel in Dearborn. The conference is designed for home visitors, administrators and parents in Michigan's home visiting programs. The purpose of the conference is to increase knowledge of home visiting models, ways to enhance home visiting practices to specifically address family needs, and to increase knowledge and skills on how to use quality improvement methods to achieve change. The conference objectives for participants are to be able to 1) describe the most commonly implemented home visiting models within Michigan, 2) discuss how family experience and trauma can impact very young children in later life, and 3) discuss the impact of health equity, health pathways, early programming, and cumulative stress on women's and families' health. More information, including online registration, is available here.

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Michigan Health Endowment Fund Listening Tour Starts July 21

Board members of the new Michigan Health Endowment Fund will be conducting a listening tour to gain a better understanding of the health issues confronting state residents and to familiarize the public with the fund.

The tour is expected to include six sessions and will start on July 21, 1-3pm, at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, Remaining sessions will be held throughout the state. You can register to attend the East Lansing session here.

Information and registration instructions for the five remaining sessions will be posted on the Michigan Health Endowment Fund website as soon as dates and locations are confirmed.

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