SENATE MEMORIAL 4

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATH TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE NEW MEXICO'S CURRENT APPROACH TO COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION OF SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATHS AND TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATH PREVENTION.

     WHEREAS, sudden unexpected infant death, including sudden infant death syndrome, is the leading cause of infant deaths after the first month of life in the United States and New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, about four thousand infants die each year of sudden unexpected infant death in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, over one hundred deaths from sudden unexpected infant death occurred between 2009 and 2013; and

     WHEREAS, the vast majority of sudden unexpected infant deaths occur before the victims' fourth month of life; and

     WHEREAS, national data show little decline in sudden unexpected infant deaths since 2000; and

     WHEREAS, new evidence suggests that environmental risk factors may contribute to sudden unexpected infant death; and

     WHEREAS, these risk factors include unsafe sleeping surfaces and shared beds; and

     WHEREAS, the United States centers for disease control and prevention has provided a grant to the state department of health's office of injury prevention to aid the department in collaboration with the office of the state medical investigator in case registry and standardized collection of information related to circumstances in which infant deaths occur; and

     WHEREAS, the office of the state medical investigator has made significant efforts to train death scene investigators, and those efforts have yielded improved and important evidence about sudden unexpected infant death in New Mexico, including findings consistent with extensive research primarily associating sudden unexpected infant death with unsafe sleeping arrangements; and

     WHEREAS, partnership among New Mexico state agencies is necessary to collaborate and coordinate efforts to support prevention of sudden unexpected infant death through home visiting programs; and

     WHEREAS, by uniting strengths, resources and knowledge across the public and private health sectors' community-based programs, reduction in sudden unexpected infant death can be achieved with minimal changes to current service delivery models;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of health be requested to convene a task force to evaluate the state's approach to community-based sudden unexpected infant death prevention and recommend effective changes to the state's approach; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of health be requested to invite leadership from the New Mexico senate and the New Mexico house of representatives, the department of health, the human services department, the children, youth and families department, the Indian affairs department, the department of public safety, universities and colleges involved in training of prenatal and postnatal health care providers, the federal Indian health service, tribal infant health and injury prevention programs, interested members of the public, the New Mexico pediatric society and health care delivery organizations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to meet regularly to examine community awareness of the risks posed by unsafe infant sleeping conditions, to examine approaches for supporting families and care providers in protecting newborn infants from sudden unexpected infant death and to explore issues related to families' access to and use of safe sleeping equipment such as cribs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sudden unexpected infant death prevention task force be requested to provide a comprehensive written report and present its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee by November 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sudden unexpected infant death task force be requested to include in its report a description of those organizations in the state that provide prenatal, delivery and immediate postnatal services for pregnant women in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to include in its report a section on current approaches to raising awareness of sudden unexpected infant death for professionals and families, including the number and location of people reached, a detailed list of expenditures in raising awareness, information on outreach and education practices and recommendations, such as a public dissemination forum, for raising awareness of sudden unexpected infant death; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to include in its report a section on current and recommended statewide and local public outreach and education on sudden unexpected infant death; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to include in its report a section on currently available community-based sudden unexpected infant death prevention programming at the state and local level; access to and participation in current programming; an evaluation of this programming's effectiveness; a local and statewide needs assessment; and recommendations for effective change; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to include in its report a section on evaluation measures for sudden unexpected infant death prevention programs tracked by the department of health and other state agencies, with public accessibility to data that may assist in obtaining funds and recommendations for effective change; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sudden unexpected infant death prevention task force be requested in its report to place special emphasis on raising awareness about risks of unsafe sleeping arrangements, increasing access to evidence-based community programming, and establishing short- and long-term recommendations to reduce sudden unexpected infant deaths by implementing cost-effective measures; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the secretary of health, the secretary of human services, the secretary of children, youth and families, the secretary of Indian affairs and the secretary of public safety.

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