Announcing our 2014 "Champions for Change" winners

We are delighted to announce our first ever “Champions for Change” winners – individuals who are partnering to help lower our community’s infant mortality rate. This diverse group – which includes a pastor, a pediatrician, a nurse practitioner, an epidemiologist, and a community health worker – demonstrates the fact that everyone can play a role in caring for and supporting moms and babies. Whether you are a nurse, a teacher, a social worker or a hairdresser, you can make a difference in the life of a pregnant woman or a new family. Please help us in congratulating these outstanding individuals dedicated to bettering the health of moms in babies in Hamilton County.The winners of the 2014 Cradle Cincinnati Champions for Change Awards are:Champion for Community Change: Pastor Ennis Tait has been an incredible asset for the community of Avondale, impacting nearly every area of life – from working to reduce violence, to supporting children and families. He has been pastor of Church of the Living God in Avondale since August of 2003. He is on the Board of LifeSkills of Cincinnati Credit Recovery High School and Every Child Succeeds; Board President of LifeSkills of Hamilton County; President of the Concerned Clergy of Avondale (Ministerial Alliance); 2nd Vice President of the Faith Community Alliance; and an organizer for Project CeaseFire, Project Lift, and Parent Project. All of Pastor Tait's leadership roles in the community focus on making Avondale a stronger neighborhood and a better, healthier environment for families and babies. Most recently, Pastor Tait spearheaded an effort to encourage 14 churches in Avondale to promote the importance of prenatal care, known as StrongStart Sunday.Safe Sleep Champion: Dr. Carrie McIntyre is a relentless advocate of safe sleep for babies. She has made it her mission to talk safe sleep with everyone visiting and working in Cincinnati Children’s Primary Pediatric Care Center: patients, families, staff members, medical students, resident physicians, attending physicians, and more. She ensures her staff stays abreast with the latest safe sleep recommendations and that families know and, more importantly, understand the Safe Sleep ABCs (Alone, on their Back, and in a Crib). In addition to providing parents with education, all infants are now screened on sleep position and co-sleeping at each patient visit. Due to Dr. McIntyre’s efforts, families in need of a crib leave her clinic with a Pack-N-Play. She addresses safe sleep from several angles to the benefit of all the patients she encounters.Champion for Better Care: Jenny Glassmeyer is a tireless champion for better care at the Cincinnati Health Department’s Price Hill Health Center. For the past three years, Ms. Glassmeyer has worked on getting pregnant women into care the day they present to the health center, or the next day the provider is there. She is also working on standardizing care so that all women receive the same health messaging from the Medical Assistant, Nurse and Practitioner at their prenatal appointments. Ms. Glassmeyer has collaborated with staff from Cincinnati Children’s and University of Cincinnati Medical Center for best practices and incorporates the safe sleep campaign into every visit. Since implementing these changes, pregnant women are seeing doctors sooner and infant mortality and morbidity in Price Hill Health Center’s patient population has decreased.Champion for Knowledge: David Carlson, Senior Epidemiologist in the Division of Epidemiology and Assessment at Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH), has been working with the agency, its partners and stakeholders since 2011. As a maternal and child health (MCH) epidemiologist, David has instituted data management and analysis processes that have enabled the routine reporting of data and indicators for those on the frontlines of reducing maternal and child health disparities, along with key policy and decision makers, and the community as a whole. Since 2012, David has served as the Coordinator of the Hamilton County Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT), leading a multi-disciplinary team in examining and reporting the causes of local child deaths, providing recommendations to guide policy, and working as a coordinated and unified voice for the organizations that comprise its membership. As a result of his expertise in the field of MCH epidemiology, David was an early collaborator in Cradle Cincinnati, providing summary data and analytical support to help guide their strategic development efforts.Social Support Champion: Venita C. Dell has spent the last seven years donating her time, efforts, and her heart to helping the young mothers in our community as a service coordinator and home visitor for the Hamilton County 'Help Me Grow' program. She has used this opportunity to help enhance the social, mental, and economic well-being of young mothers and their children. In 2007, Ms. Dell incorporated her non-profit, 'Helping Young Mothers Mentor Inc.', an organization that pairs young mothers (ages twelve to twenty five) with mentors. The program focuses on helping with housing, nutrition, safety, community awareness, and self-esteem.Additionally, at a separate ceremony, Kay Brogle was honored for lifetime achievement. Kay recently retired as the Executive Director of Healthy Moms and Babes and has championed maternal and infant health in Cincinnati for more than 25 years. Kay took over Healthy Moms and Babes when it was just three years old and grew it into a compassionate service organization that has served thousands of women over the years.