COVID-19 Resources

Recent CDC News 

• CDC Recommends Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine for Adults
• New COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Data Showcase Protection Gained by 3rd and 4th Doses
• COVID-19 Reverses Progress in Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance in U.S.
• CDC Recommends Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for Children and Adolescents
• CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children

AMCHP COVID-19 Resources and Vaccination Pages 

AMCHP is committed to working alongside our federal agency and organizational partners to gather available information, resources, and guidance specific to our MCH population during the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources are on our website for your convenience and are updated regularly as untapped resources become available. Find out more about vaccinating MCH populations to stay up to date on well care during the pandemic here.

AMCHP Announcements

Never miss our updates! Sign up for our newsletters here, and follow us on Twitter (@DC_AMCHP), LinkedIn (Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs), Facebook (AMCHPofficial), and Instagram (@DC_AMCHP).

New MCH Bridges Podcast Episode!

What’s Public Health Got to Do with It? Maternal Health, Substance Use, and the Criminal Justice System

Our latest MCH Bridges episode is available! Episode 7 – “What’s Public Health Got to Do with It? Maternal Health, Substance Use, and the Criminal Justice System.”

In this episode, Rachel shares her journey as a mom navigating incarceration while pregnant and recovering from a substance use disorder, and Essence Hairston, a Clinical Instructor at UNC Horizons, offers her perspective on opportunities for the public health field to better support pregnant people who use substances.

Share with your peers and listen to this and other episodes on www.mchbridges.org, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Overcast.

AMCHP Innovation Hub

Now Accepting Submissions for the MCH Innovations Database Fall 2022 Review

Is your work effectively improving the health and well-being of MCH populations? Submit it to the MCH Innovations Database: Fall 2022 Review!

AMCHP’s Innovation Hub is currently accepting submissions to the MCH Innovations Database (formerly Innovation Station). The MCH Innovations Database is a searchable repository of “what’s working” in the field that includes effective practices, programs, and strategies that positively impact MCH populations.

Submissions to the database are assessed along a practice continuum and, if accepted, receive a designation of Cutting-Edge, Emerging, Promising, or Best Practice depending on the evidence demonstrating the practice’s impact, among other criteria. The Innovation Hub has also expanded to include policies with their own criteria to sort them into the appropriate designation, ranging from development, implementation, and evaluation. Policies are currently being accepted on a rolling basis and can be submitted at any point. Check out this short overview video of the submissions process to learn more.

How to Submit a Practice? 

Access our submission forms here under the “How do I Submit a Practice?” tab and learn more about how you can submit your practice for the fall. All submissions must be sent to evidence@amchp.org by COB Friday, September 30.

Not sure which designation to submit to? Check out our Minimum Criteria Checklist to figure out which designation is right for your practice, or email us at evidence@amchp.org, and we are happy to assist.

How to Submit a Policy? 

Access our submission forms here under the “How do I Submit a Policy?” tab and learn more about how you can submit your policy! All submissions should be sent to evidence@amchp.org, and please remember that they are accepted on a rolling basis.

Not sure which track to submit to? Check out our Policy Track Criteria to figure out which designation is right for your practice, or email us at evidence@amchp.org and we are happy to assist.

 Refer a Practice/Policy

Don’t have anything to submit for the Fall 2022 Review, but know of one that would be a great fit for the MCH Innovations Database? Refer a practice/policy to the database on our website, and we’ll reach out to them. All referrals can be submitted on our site using the “How do I Refer a Practice/Policy?” tab here. Email us at evidence@amchp.org for any questions!

AMCHP Annual Conference 

Post-Conference Reminders

You still have access to ALL conference content!

Do you wish to revisit your favorite session or engage with the content you might have missed live? For a full year, registered participants will have access to all the on-demand content, live plenary sessions, workshops, and more! Visit the conference website, log in with your access key, and continue to be inspired by all the wonderful speakers and participants this year on your own time.

Save the Date for AMCHP 2023!

Interested in receiving all the details about the AMCHP 2023 Annual Conference? Subscribe to our email list at this link!

Annual Conference Approved for Continuing Education 

As of May 4, 2022, the AMCHP 2022 Annual Conference meets Accreditation and CDC’S Quality Training Standards. Please click here for more information.

AMCHP Events & Webinars

Webinar – Making the Call for MCH: Exploring the Maternal Mental Health Hotline and the 988 Crisis Lifeline

Join AMCHP and ASTHO for this virtual learning session on August 17, from 3:00 – 4:00 PM EDT (register now).

This national webinar is part of the PRISM learning community. It will explore the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, the 988 Suicide Prevention Crisis Lifeline, and opportunities for public health agencies to partner to promote their success and support MCH populations’ mental health and wellbeing.

Panelists include:

• John Draper, Executive Vice President, National Networks, Vibrant Emotional Health & Executive Director, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
• Dawn Levinson, Behavioral Health Lead, Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
• Richard McKeon, Chief, Suicide Prevention Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Register now at this link.

AMCHP Mental Health Corner

Mental health is an important component of well-being for MCH populations. To recognize its importance, we will use this space to highlight resources for MCH professionals to support their own mental health, as well as the mental health of those they serve. Read more about AMCHP’s organizational work on mental health and substance use here.

In August, AMCHP’s mental health social media posts will focus on a variety of mental health and substance use disorder topics including stigma, the new mental health hotlines, trauma, and overdose. We encourage you to retweet our material and use the hashtag: #AMCHPMentalHealth.

Interested in receiving more information on what’s happening related to mental health/substance use and MCH? Sign-up for the PRISM Digest, our monthly mental health/substance use newsletter, by emailing jsimon@amchp.org and check out the #AMCHPMentalHealth hashtag on Twitter. Have questions or want to learn more? Contact the mental health team at mentalhealth@amchp.org.

AMCHP National Policy Calls

AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Halls

Thank you to those who joined us for our July AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Hall. You can watch the full recording here:

The next Town Hall will be on Thursday, September 8, from 2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT. We invite you to register for this and our future Town Halls at this link.

Legislation & Policy

Explore our Maternal Health Bill Tracker for more information about pending federal legislation to improve maternal health.

President Biden Issues New Executive Order on Reproductive Healthcare

President Biden issued a new Executive Order on Wednesday, August 3, to support access to reproductive health care. The Order directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to:

1) Consider actions to support individuals, including those receiving Medicaid, traveling across state lines to access reproductive health care services;

2) Consider actions to ensure health care providers comply with Federal non-discrimination laws; and

3) Measure the impact of narrowing access to reproductive health care on maternal health and other health outcomes.

This latest Executive Order builds upon previous actions from the Biden-Harris Administration in response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Read the latest Executive Order and about previous actions on the White House website.

Senate Passes Economic Package that Includes Health Care Provisions       

On Sunday, August 8, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R.5376), an expansive economic package that includes components related to climate change, taxes, and health care. Perhaps, of most significant impact on maternal and child health, the Act includes a three-year extension on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace premium subsidies for lower- and middle-income Americans. The legislation also includes several Medicare-related provisions, which you can read about here. The bill will next be considered by the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass along party lines as it did in the Senate.

Bill Supporting Reproductive Health Care for People with Disabilities Introduced in Senate

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have introduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act (S.4764) in support of access to reproductive health care services for people with disabilities. The legislation seeks to decrease barriers to sexual and reproductive health care for persons with disabilities and increase provider knowledge through:

• Grant funding to eligible entities to carry out training programs for health professionals providing reproductive health care for individuals with disabilities;
• Expanding the reproductive healthcare workforce;
• Establishing a technical assistance center on sexual and reproductive health care best practices for people with disabilities; and
• Directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to carry out a study on the issue.

Learn more about the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act with this one-pager and the full legislative text.

Biden-Harris Administration Declares Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency     

On August 4, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the spread of monkeypox virus in the United States a Public Health Emergency (PHE). The declaration of the PHE allows the Biden-Harris Administration to take additional actions to combat the spread of the virus, including state data sharing with the federal government and scaling vaccine production and distribution. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released a webpage on monkeypox and pregnancy, and AMCHP continues to monitor how monkeypox virus impacts maternal and child health populations.

Opportunities & Funding 

AMCHP Career Center: Connecting Talent with Opportunity 

AMCHP lists the top jobs available in our industry. Access the AMCHP Career Center to search and apply for open positions or post your jobs on opportunities! Search for Jobs | Post a Job. 

AMCHP Career Opportunities

Be part of our team! AMCHP is seeking individuals for the roles listed below. AMCHP offers a 100% virtual work/telework environment for all positions.

• Special Project Senior Analyst – Evidence and Implementation: This position will support the Evidence and Implementation (EI) team to strengthen the alignment of AMCHP’s Innovation Hub and the MCH Evidence Center’s tools and resources. It will also help build the EI team’s evidence-related content, tools, and resources portfolio. [learn more and apply]
• Equity, Epidemiology, & Evaluation Equity Metrics Intern: AMCHP is looking to employ a paid intern to support AMCHP’s Equity, Epidemiology, & Evaluation team. This individual will assist in conducting an equity assessment of the AMCHP Life Course Indicators (LCI) and coordinating/tracking our internal and external equity committees’ efforts, outputs, and impacts. Expected work hours are 15‐20 hours per week for the duration of the 16‐week internship. [learn more and apply]
• Communications Analyst: This position will support the Communications team by performing various responsibilities related to publication development, print, online content, and media. General duties include substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading publications intended for broad distribution to state public health professionals; providing desktop publishing and graphic design expertise; developing and maintaining AMCHP web pages; developing social and other media campaigns; and implementing and enforcing communications quality‐control processes for colleagues. [learn more and apply]

To learn more about AMCHP’s career opportunities, please visit this link.

Partner Events & Webinars

Save the Date – APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Save the date for the following courses, offered by the Learning Institute of the APHA 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, to be held in Boston, MA, from November 6-9, 2022.

• Scientific Writing for Public Health: This short course will be held on Saturday, November 5, from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM EDT at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Its purpose is to help public health practitioners turn their work into manuscripts for publication, with a mixture of presentations and hands-on work. [learn more and register]
•  How to Evaluate Public Health Programs: This short course will be held on Sunday, November 6, from 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM EDT at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Its purpose is to equip public health professionals, particularly those working at the local and/or community level, with the essential knowledge and skills to evaluate public health programs. [learn more and register]

Recording – Child Trends: Reimagining Black Family and Child Week-Being in Research, Programming, and Public Policy

To commemorate the Juneteenth holiday, and discuss insights from a recent brief that highlights the voices of advocacy and service leaders at organizations that promote racial and social justice, Child Trends hosted the webinar “Reimagining Black Family and Child Well-Being in Research, Programming, and Public Policy.” Four leaders-Dr. Leah Austin from the National Black Child Development Institute, Siobhan Davenport from the Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, Terrance E. Moore from the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, and Synethia White from Cities United-gathered to discuss new visions and pathways for Black child and family well-being. [watch the recording]

Source: A Reimagined Vision for Black Child and Family Well-Being from National and Local Leaders, by Mavis Sanders, Senior Research Scholar of Black Children and Families at Child Trends.

Publications & Resources

CDC: Clinical Considerations for Monkeypox in People who are Pregnant or Breastfeeding

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that it is working to provide healthcare professionals with up-to-date information to help them promptly diagnose monkeypox virus infection, treat patients who are at risk for severe disease, and prevent further spread of the outbreak.

A few weeks ago, CDC also released clinical considerations for monkeypox in people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. It informed that these clinical considerations are tailored to healthcare professionals caring for pregnant, recently pregnant, and breastfeeding people, and includes information about: signs and symptoms of monkeypox virus infection; pre- and pot-exposure prophylaxis; treatment; vaccines; contact and breastfeeding recommendations; and infection control.

To learn more and for the latest updates and information regarding monkeypox, please visit the CDC web page at this link.

2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS)

On August 3, the de Beaumont Foundation released the full data and an interactive dashboard of findings from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), the only nationally representative survey of state and local government public health employees in the U.S.

Conducted by the de Beaumont Foundation and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) between September 2021 and January 2022, PH WINS 2021 covered the demographics, job characteristics, training needs, intent to stay or leave, professional engagement and satisfaction, and overall well-being of employees. Preliminary survey findings released in March 2022 revealed high levels of stress, burnout, and intent to leave, and were detailed in a research brief, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rising Stress and Burnout in Public Health.”

Explore Key Findings | Access the Dashboard

Maternal and Child Health Journal Supplement on Public Health Approaches to Perinatal Substance Use

The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) announced a forthcoming supplement on “Public Health Approaches to Perinatal Substance Use,” to be published by the Maternal and Child Health Journal. This supplement, sponsored by AMCHP and ASTHO, will feature articles that address policies and programs dedicated to expanding access to mental health and substance use care during the perinatal period. Please read our Call for Papers to learn more. The deadline has been extended to October 1.

If you are interested in submitting to the supplement, reviewing manuscript submissions, or have general questions about the supplement, please email Amani Echols (aechols@amchp.org).

Commemorations

August 2022

Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month
Digestive Tract Paralysis Awareness Month
Gastroparesis Awareness Month
National Breastfeeding Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
Psoriasis Action Month
Summer Sun Safety Month

Weeks to Note:
World Breastfeeding Week; August 1 – 7
National Health Center Week; August 7 – 13
Contact Lens Health Week; August 19 – 23

Days to Note:
World Lung Cancer Day; August 1
International Overdose Awareness Day; August 31