Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Healthy Births Initiative?
The Healthy Births Initiative is an initiative of First 5 LA. The goal of the initiative is to improve the pregnancy and birth outcomes for all women in Los Angeles County.
To support the work needed to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes, First 5 LA has allotted 28 million dollars. These funds, along with other resources in Los Angeles County, will launch the initiative and provide support for three years in the following areas:
1. Best Babies Collaboratives
2. The Healthy Births Learning Collaboratives (HBLC)
3. LA Best Babies Network
To learn more, download the Healthy Births Initiative brochure here.
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What are Best Babies Collaboratives?
Best Babies Collaboratives (BBCs) are partnerships that are funded to work together and provide service in priority communities.
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What will Best Babies Collaboratives do?
Best Babies Collaboratives:
• Expand capacity to provide, coordinate and enhance services and resources to communities within priority areas;
• Implement HBI Core Approaches to improve birth and pregnancy outcomes, strengthen community support to pregnant women and families and increase their ability to care for newborns;
• Work with the Healthy Births Learning Collaboratives, LA Best Babies Network and other Best Babies Collaboratives to increase opportunities for shared learning, demonstrating measurable progress and mobilizing for action; and
• Work in collaboration with others to undertake the comprehensive, integrated, multi-level approach required to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes. National evidence demonstrates that communities that work together can improve pregnancy outcomes.
Collaboration, is defined as “multiple partners working together in well-defined, mutually beneficial relationships.” It is our belief that collaboration will ultimately improve pregnancy, birth, family and community outcomes in Los Angeles County.
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What are the Healthy Birth Initiative (HBI) Core Approaches?
The following eight Core Approaches were approved to improve the health and well being of pregnant and parenting families in Los Angeles County:
- Policy and Advocacy
- Community Building
- Health Messaging and Health Education
- Social Support
- Prenatal Care Quality Improvement
- Interconception Care
- Outreach
- Case Management/Home Visitation
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What are the Healthy Births Learning Collaboratives?
Healthy Births Learning Collaboratives (HBLCs) are networks of perinatal stakeholders, working together to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes in Los Angeles County.
The HBLCs provide free, interactive, community-based meetings, intended to promote knowledge sharing, capacity building, collaborative planning and action among the network of stakeholders interested in improving pregnancy and birth outcomes in Los Angeles County. HBLC meetings are held throughout Los Angeles County in each of the Service Planning Areas (SPAs).
HBLCs offer:
- Enhancement of skills through educational activities and the provision of technical assistance on various topics affecting pregnancy, infancy and child health.
- Information on community-specific resources, policy issues impacting pregnancy and maternal health, and available funding opportunities.
- Networking and collaborative opportunities among maternal and child health and community professionals from local and adjoining communities.
- Avenues to give information to the LA Best Babies Network to guide policy and advocacy activities, and identify information and service needs for local communities; and
- Opportunities for collaborative planning and action to implement evidence-based and community-proven approaches to improving pregnancy and birth outcomes.
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Who can attend an HBLC meeting?
HBLC meetings are open to everyone. We recognize that there is no “quick-fix” to improving pregnancy and birth outcomes and that it will take the wisdom and skills of all of us working together.
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How do I become a member of an HBLC?
The HBLCs are open to all persons interested in improving pregnancy and birth outcomes in Los Angeles County.
Traditionally, members include physicians, nurses, prenatal health care workers, health educators, dietitians, researchers, healthcare administrators and community members, who are interested in working together to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes.
To become part of the Healthy Births Learning Collaborative contact 213-250-7273 or register for the HBLC meetings via our Web site.
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What is a SPA?
Los Angeles County is divided into eight geographic "Service Planning Areas" (SPA's) for purposes of planning and coordination of services and to promote community involvement in decisions impacting the health and well-being of local residents. Each SPA has an Area Health Office that is responsible for planning public health and clinical services according to the health needs of local communities. The American Indian Council (AIC) oversees the needs service coordination of American Indian and Alaskan Native community members across LA County. In addition, each SPA and the AIC have community-based councils for promoting community engagement and input into County processes. Some examples of activities happening in the SPA regions include:
- assessing the health needs of local communities and promoting a strength-based approach to addressing problems;
- providing services through various County Departments including clinics and community-based agencies;
- coordinating programs designed to promote health, prevent disease and improve the well-being of residents of the County;
- promoting collaboration between community groups and County government to improve the health of local residents.
(Adapted from “What is a SPA” - Los Angeles County Department of Health Services website: lapublichealth.org/spa/spawhat.htm)
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What priority areas have been approved for funding under the Healthy Births Initiative?
The First 5 LA approved funding for Best Babies Collaboratives in these priority communities:
LA Best Babies Network, the Healthy Births Advisory Board, HBLC members and First 5 LA all agree that there is no “quick-fix” that will improve pregnancy and birth outcomes for LA County women and families. Significant need exists throughout all of Los Angeles County, but within the County there are areas of greatest need. First 5 LA has approved investment of concentrated funds in two large areas that represent communities of highest need.
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How were the Healthy Births Initiative funded areas chosen?
These areas were selected because they have both high numbers and high proportions of adverse outcomes or conditions in the SPA(s) as well as higher proportions of total L.A. County births.
We identified areas of greatest need within each SPA, using:
• A system that produced a summary score for several perinatal risk indicators (infant mortality, low birthweight, late onset or no prenatal care, teen birth, number and proportion of women on Medi-Cal) and the proportion of women living on incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level; and
• The area’s state of readiness;
• The designated areas include approximately 50% of the births in Antelope Valley and approximately 30% of the births in SPAs 4, 6, 7, and 8. [Zipcode Map]
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Do you have to live in one of the priority zip codes to access services funded by the Healthy Births Initiative?
These zip codes serve to direct funding of services to these areas, but are not intended to exclude those living near these zip codes from receiving these services. We will continue to advocate for expanded support to institutionalize funding for these areas and expand funding to areas throughout Los Angeles County.
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What is the LA Best Babies Network?
LA Best Babies Network forms the infrastructure to support and coordinate the activities of the multiple components of the Healthy Births Initiative. The Network undertakes work on policy and advocacy issues important for improving the health and well-being of women, infants and families. The Network provides central coordination for county-wide policy and advocacy activities, and technical assistance activities to support the Best Babies Collaboratives, Healthy Births Learning Collaboratives, the Healthy Births Advisory Board, and the Care Quality Improvement Initiative. These support activities are critical to ensure that the components of the Healthy Births Initiative are most likely to succeed and thrive well beyond the current funding period. The Network provides the infrastructure necessary for the growth, integration and sustainability of the Healthy Births Initiative.
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What does LA Best Babies Network do?
The Network:
• Provides central coordination for a perinatal health policy agenda, working with community stakeholders and others required to institutionalize policy and programs necessary to create sustainable improvement in pregnancy and birth;
• Conducts research and evaluation to inform policy and program development and direction;
• Serves as a resource for and dissemination of information on policy and advocacy issues as identified by the community and in response to governmental changes;
• Provides technical assistance, training and other support for the Healthy Births Learning Collaboratives in order to increase community and organizational capacity;
• Nurtures the growth and development of Best Babies Collaboratives, ensuring the skill building that is vital to build effective and sustainable activities;
• Conducts Care Quality Improvement activities to assist providers and others to implement systems change that will support implementation of evidence-based practice guidelines and link health care providers to community based services and resources;
• Seeks sustainable funding for all aspects of the Healthy Births Initiative, especially to expand Best Babies Collaboratives to each priority area within L.A. County and to lengthen the duration of the initiative; and
• Provides consultation to collaborators, community members, care providers, policy makers, business and government entities to support the overall growth of the community.
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