Voice for Kids Blog
Snapshot: Children’s in 2012
On the Voice for Kids blog we often share the stories of how public policy affects real families (like these stories from Maria and Suzanne) and we report on legislation that affects kids’ health. Today, we want to take some time to look at Children’s by the numbers because it provides a greater sense of why advocacy is so important.
Faces of Medicaid: Maria's story
Medical Assistance, Minnesota's Medicaid program, provides essential care for a broad range of families in Minnesota and nearly half of the program's beneficiaries are children. "Faces of Medicaid" is a year-long series that will highlight stories from some of the patient families at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota who have benefitted from this safety net program. Protecting Medicaid is a high priority for Children's. Read more about why Medicaid matters to Children's.
The Mother Baby Center: More than a building; a new way of delivering care
- Every year there are nearly 480,000 premature births in the United States. That’s one in every eight live births. In Minnesota, the preterm birth rate is on the rise and has increased by 26 percent since 1990.
- Every year, 120,000 newborns are born with birth defects, and they are a leading cause of infant deaths in Minnesota.
- Maternal age is rising: one in five women in the United Stateshas her first child after age 35.
- Nearly one-third of women in the United States don’t receive prenatal care.
The opening of The Mother Baby Center, a partnership between Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and Abbott Northwestern Hospital, represents a new way of delivering care that reflects the current state of pregnancy and birth. The Mother Baby Center isn’t just a building. It brings together the state’s leaders in obstetrics and gynecology, and children’s health to develop a system-wide approach to address the challenges and opportunities in prenatal and neonatal health.
Gov. Mark Dayton shows his heart by visiting Children’s on Valentine’s Day
This Valentine’s Day got a little sweeter when Gov. Mark Dayton dropped by the Minneapolis campus of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota to visit with some of our patients and their families.
Faces of Medicaid: Suzanne’s story
Medical Assistance, Minnesota's Medicaid program, provides essential care for a broad range of families in Minnesota and nearly half of the program's beneficiaries are children. "Faces of Medicaid" is a year-long series that will highlight stories from some of the patient families at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota who have benefitted from this safety net program. Protecting Medicaid is a high priority for Children's. Read more about why Medicaid matters to Children's.
My journey started in Bozeman Montana in November of 2009 when I was so excited to find out that my husband and I were expecting our second child. Not long after we got the news, I started experiencing complications with my pregnancy due to a tear in my placenta. Initially, my doctor thought this wouldn’t be a big deal, but at 22 weeks the problem grew serious enough that I moved away from my husband in Montana to South Dakota where I was admitted to the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy.
