Ninth Annual Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Conference / December 10-12, 2003
DR. JOSE CORDERO: Thank you. Good afternoon again. Wow. We’re still awake. It’s a pleasure to welcome you to this session, and I think it’s very fitting that we conclude today’s session speaking about the importance on exploring the transition of care from children to adults with special healthcare needs. I’m here to welcome you not only in terms of the session but on behalf of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. And we see our work as being part of what we do in MCH. And actually, it was really interesting and I appreciate the discussion that we had in the previous session in terms of what is MCH. In a way, it sort of reminded me of a discussion that--sort of a story that Lee Iacocca told in his book. It was about going to a plant, trying to figure out what to do about making Chrysler more profitable, and started asking, “What do you do?” And one answer is, “I’m a left-hand driver installer of doors.”
And the other said, “Well, I put the rear windows in cars.” Finally, he went to a custodian and said, “What do you do?” He says, “I build cars.” And I think that we need to sometimes step back and look at do we really need to worry about our definitions of whether we are an MCH or others, or do we need to think about what we do and what impact it’s having in terms of reducing infant mortality, maternal mortality, and morbidity, whether we’re using MCH Epi or other.
So at the end, that’s what’s going to be our legacy. And that’s, I think, what I’d like to see, that we are in the National Center of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. We are here to promote the health of babies, children, and adults, and to enhance the potential for full productive living. And because of the nature of the center, we actually focus on three things: identifying the causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities, helping children to develop and reach their full potential, and promoting health and well-being among people of all ages with disabilities. And in that context, it’s that we are concerned about the issue of transition of care from children to adults, especially children that have special healthcare needs, especially those with developmental disabilities. This is the third year I attend this conference, and you probably have heard this part of my description of the center three times. But I just want to add that as of October 20 of this year; we have a third division in addition to our Division of Birth Defects and the Division of Human Development and Disabilities.
Right now, the name that’s going through the bureaucracy is Hereditary blood Disorders. This is the group that works with hemophilia, thrombophilia, and other disorders. And it’s another opportunity to collaborate in areas of--especially thrombophilia and the impact it has on pregnancy and preterm delivery; but also, it’s a good example of how by addressing a problem like hemophilia appropriately, you can reduce secondary conditions that actually affect--turn out into long-term chronic disabilities. So with that introduction, I’d like to go ahead and introduce other participants for this session. I will just go ahead and introduce all three of them, and then each of them will come and present. And I hope we’ll have also time for a good discussion. Now, I have to stop and get my RAM memory. The three speakers for today are Dr. John Reiss, who is Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Health Policy and Epidemiology in the University of Florida. There is a very nice description of all the wonderful work that John has done on page 31.
And Deborah Klein Walker is Associate Commissioner for Programs and Prevention in the Massachusetts Department of Health. Also, she’s been involved in a number of activities, and I’m very glad and have the great pleasure of working with her on the Board of American Public Health Associations. And again, there is a very nice write-up about her in the book. Nora Wells is Director of Research and Activities for the Family Voices at the Federation for Children’s Special Healthcare Needs, and Family Voices has been a tremendous partner in working with health departments, and also even at the national level, in terms of ensuring that children with special healthcare needs have appropriate care. And with that, I will just begin with Dr. John Reiss