FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Janice Freedman
(919) 828-1819
The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation welcomes new infant safe sleep coordinator
(Raleigh, NC) – In its commitment to reducing infant death and illness across the state, the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation is proud to announce Jacquie Simmons as the new Infant Safe Sleep Coordinator. A native of Tarrytown, New York, Simmons holds a Master's Degree in Public Health / Health Promotion from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She currently resides in Chapel Hill with her husband and two-year old son.
Before moving to N.C., Simmons spent eight years at the National Safe Kids office in Washington, D.C. in the research and program departments. There she worked on projects addressing national safe sleep issues and programs focusing on areas of child unintentional injury prevention. She also worked as a health educator for INOVA Health System and served as a volunteer for the United States Peace Corps. "I have been passionate about maternal, particularly child health ever since I became a community health Peace Corps volunteer," Simmons says. "To pursue my passion and interest in child health, my goal has always been to work at an organization where I can provide education and resources to parents, families and caregivers so their children can start life happy, healthy and safe."
Simmons commends the Foundation and the many individuals and organizations responsible for the recent decline in the state’s infant mortality rate. According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, the rate fell to its lowest level in 2010, dropping 11.4 percent from the previous year. However, Simmons says before we can truly celebrate, the reduction in infant mortality must become a long term trend. "Hopefully, with continued investment in public health, outreach and education, these numbers will remain low," she says. "Let this not be a reason to reduce our commitment but an opportunity to reinvest in making sure these numbers continue to decline."
Janice Freedman, Executive Director for the NC Healthy Start Foundation, is delighted to have Simmons on board. "Her passion and experience supports our agency's mission and we are excited to see her soar as she takes this program under her wings.". For additional information about the NC Healthy Start Foundation, visit www.NCHealthyStart.org
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The N.C. Healthy Start Foundation, a
nonprofit organization established in 1990, conducts
ongoing public education campaigns, advises state and
local policy makers, and provides technical assistance
and professional training focused on reducing infant
death and illness and improving the health of women
and young children in North Carolina.
