Department of Health
Riverview Center, Room 350 or Corning Tower 910Albany , NY 12237
Division/Unit: Chronic Disease Prevention
Web Site: http://www.health.ny.gov
Department of Health
Riverview Center, Room 350 or Corning Tower 910Division/Unit: Chronic Disease Prevention
Web Site: http://www.health.ny.gov
Description:
The American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, states that breast milk feeding is the optimal form of nutrition for infants born prematurely, and the Section on Breastfeeding, states that the potent benefits of human milk are such that all preterm infants should receive human milk. For mothers unable to provide their own breast milk, despite lactation support, pasteurized, banked donor human milk can provide an important alternative to premature formulas.
Human breast milk can be lifesaving by conferring protection from both bloodstream infections and from necrotizing enterocolitis, a potentially devastating intestinal complication of prematurity, and reducing the risk of death and developmental disabilities along with other long-term health problems. Examples of medically-indicated situations for donor breast milk use include, but are not limited to: congenital anomalies, short gut syndrome and other GI anomalies, feeding intolerance, severe allergies, immune deficiency, and postoperative surgery (i.e., intestinal repair).
Research suggests that there is a positive return on investment for the use of donor human milk (DHM) in premature infants; the costs are more than balanced by the cost savings from reducing the incidence NEC and total parenteral nutrition days. It has been estimated that between $8,167 and $9,669 (US $) can be saved per infant by ensuring premature infants admitted to the NICU receive mother's milk or donor breast milk. In 2016, legislation was advanced and passed by the NY Senate and Assembly (S 6583-B and A 9353-C, respectively), but not signed by the Governor. The legislation aimed to ensure that public insurance (Medicaid) would cover DHM in certain cases with the aim of reducing health disparities, and improving infant health outcomes. Currently, there is no hard data about which hospitals provide DHM, how frequently they provide donor milk or for how long, and for which medical conditions. Practices appear to vary widely. Cost is usually cited as the biggest barrier to providing DHM. Some hospitals do administer DHM when it is brought in by parents who can afford the processing fees, which further increases health disparities. There is interest in better understanding the current status and estimating potential use and costs. The Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and the Office of Health Insurance Programs (Medicaid) in the NYSDOH are interested surveying hospitals to collect information about current policies and practices regarding the provision of DHM, what criteria are used to determine eligibility for DHM, sources of payment, identified gaps in care, and what policies hospitals have in place regarding use of DHM.
Intern will:
- Work with DOH staff and experts to develop and finalize a survey for hospitals.
- Enter the survey in SurveyMonkey.
- Develop introduction letter to be sent to hospitals to accompany the survey.
- Organize email addresses of maternity leaders and send out letter with SurveyMonkey® link via email.
- Develop excel database to track administration and completion of survey and submission of DHM policies by hospitals.
- Develop reminder protocol of follow-up calls e-mails and phone calls to ensure high response.
- Implement and track reminder protocol to hospitals.
- Conduct preliminary analyses, including descriptive statistical analysis.
- Stratify analysis by level of perinatal level care and use of DHM and determine differences.
- Prepare summary report and presentation.
Available hours within 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Core coursework in BMS 505, Biological Basis of Public Health; HPM 500, Health Care Organization, Delivery and Financing; EPI 500, Basic Principles and Methods of Epidemiology; and HPM 525, Social and Behavioral Aspects of Health
Coursework and/or experience related to policy work preferred.
Background or experience related to maternal and/or infant health, breastfeeding or nutrition preferred
Skills:
1 year of SPH graduate work
Excellent Communication skills
Organizational & attention to detail
Internship Areas: Communications/Public Relations, Health/Nutritional Services, Public Policy
Payment? Paid
Number of Hours: 30 or more
Location: Albany
Number of Interns Needed: 1
Preferred Standing Graduate Student
Minimum Standing: Graduate Student
Degree Concentrations: Health Services, Nursing, Nutritional Studies, Public Administration