HHS grants $40M for Strong Start initiative

WASHINGTON – The Department of Health and Human Services granted more than $40 million to fund the Strong Start initiative aimed at reducing the number of preterm births in America, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday.

The grants will be used to test ways to reduce preterm births, as well as to fund a public campaign to reduce early elective deliveries.

“Preterm births are a growing public health problem that has significant consequences for families well into a child’s life,” said Sebelius, in a press release announcing the grants. “The Strong Start initiative will help give expectant mothers the care they need for a healthy delivery and a healthy baby.”

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U.S. racial gap in life expectancy shrinks: Blacks Living Longer

The shift appears to be because fewer African Americans are dying of AIDS and heart disease, but also because more whites are dying in early and mid-adulthood from unintentional injuries - mainly poisonings, including prescription drug overdoses, researchers said.

"For the most part, blacks are making small but important gains in terms of life expectancy," said Sam Harper of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, the lead author of the new report, published as a research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association. bit.ly/JjFzqx

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We Won't Turn Back :: Obama Jobs & the Middle Class

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