Against some big odds, the Every Woman Southeast Consortium was launched on Tuesday March 2nd in Atlanta. Teams from each of the eight states made it there along with representatives from the March of Dimes, CDC, AMCHP, HRSA, ACOG and HHS. We even had a surprise visit from the esteemed Dr. Fleda Jackson. We had a total of 42 very smart and highly engaged people in attendance.
The participants worked hard all day as we went through introductions and state updates, a visioning exercise, discussion groups focused on horizontal integration, discussion groups about how to build the consortium, a presentation about the RNDMU Network (Region IV Network for Data Management and Utilization) and next steps. We ended the day with what we had hoped - clear actionable items and a consensus that we should move forward.
Interestingly, we met through a snow event - who would have thought we'd have snow in Atlanta in March! This caused some travel delays and worries but in the end I think everyone got home ok.
Notes from the meeting along with photos will be posted soon. Stay tuned! Thank you to everyone who took the time out of your busy schedules to participate. The Southern Region most certainly will lead the nation in preconception health.
