FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: November 6, 2006 Media Contact:
Vivian Muzyk
(919) 828-1819
N.C. Public Health Professional Honored for Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome Reduction Efforts
Christine O'Meara Receives
GlaxoSmithKline's Child Health Award
November 6, 2006 – (Raleigh,
NC) North Carolina's Back to Sleep Campaign Coordinator
received the 2006 Individual Child Health Recognition
Award from GlaxoSmithKline Foundation for her work
promoting infant sleep safety for North Carolina's
children.
Christine O'Meara, MA, MPH, of the North Carolina Healthy
Start Foundation in Raleigh, received the award at
a ceremony in New Bern, held in conjunction with the
North Carolina Public Health Association's annual meeting
on October 11.
In her role as coordinator of the Infant/Toddler Safe
Sleep and SIDS Risk Reduction in Child Care project
(ITS-SIDS), Ms. O'Meara has garnered a national and
international reputation for influencing policy makers
and developing and implementing a best practice, "train
the trainer" curriculum that promotes safe sleep practices.
Her ambitious outreach, training and public education
programs have educated more than 30,000 licensed childcare
providers around the state, as well as hundreds of
thousands of parents, health and human service providers,
community members and others about reducing the risk
of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In addition,
Ms. O'Meara has developed effective social marketing
strategies to target communities at a higher risk of
SIDS, especially African American's, whose infants
die from SIDS at twice the rate of white infants. She
also incorporates other safety practices in her education
of families, like eliminating secondhand smoke exposure
for babies, children and women who are pregnant.
"I am deeply appreciative and honored that my
colleagues considered me worthy of this recognition,"
O'Meara said. "I am proud of the work we have accomplished
to educate parents, grandparents, childcare providers,
health professionals, policy makers and the media about
reducing SIDS risks and promoting infant sleep safety,
but our work is not finished! The fact that our statewide
SIDS rate has ceased its downward trend, that 105 babies
died of SIDS in 2005 and that more and more families
have lost a precious baby because of an accidental
suffocation or strangulation in the sleep environment
(26 infants in 2005) reminds us that we can, and must
do more for babies and families in our state," she
said.
O'Meara has now turned the NC Back to Sleep Campaign's
attention to identifying ways hospitals can address
the issue of infant sleep safety and promote parent
education aimed at thwarting the tragedy of SIDS. For
more information about NC Back to Sleep and ways to
reduce the risk of SIDS, visit www.NCHealthyStartFoundation.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 N.C.
