Media Contacts:
Valerie Foster, Harrison Edwards PR, 914-242-0010
vfoster@harrison-edwardspr.com
Ted Herman, Hudson Health Plan, 914-372-2204
therman@hudsonhealthplan.org

 

HUDSON HEALTH PLAN JOINS HEALTH TEXTING PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS RISING INFANT MORTALITY RATE IN THE UNITED STATES


Text4Baby Is the First-Ever Free Mobile Health Service to Provide Health Tips to Pregnant Women and New Moms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2010

(Tarrytown, NY)…Emily Kellmann of Highland Mills, NY, pregnant for the first time, is filled with questions. When she was told by her nurse case manager at Hudson Health Plan that she could sign up for text4baby, a free text messaging service that delivers timely pregnancy health tips to her cell phone, she jumped at the chance to join.

“Text4baby is really convenient,” Kellmann says. “I am an early education major at SUNY New Paltz, and working two jobs, so I am rarely home on the computer. But my phone is always with me. I’m lucky because I have a wonderful support system, but there are always things to learn. Getting the text messages is really informative, and is helping me stay healthy during my pregnancy, which means my baby will also be healthier.” The service will continue through her child’s first birthday.

Text4baby is an educational program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), and is made possible through an unprecedented public-private partnership, which includes the White House Office on Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and corporate sponsors.

To register for the service, a woman simply texts BABY (BEBE, for Spanish speakers), to 511411. Once enrolled, she begins receiving three free SMS text messages each week, timed to her baby’s due date. Wireless carriers have agreed to distribute these messages to recipients free of charge. Messages focus on a variety of topics critical to maternal and child health, including birth defects prevention, immunization, nutrition, seasonal flu, mental health, oral health, and safe sleep. Text4baby messages also connect women to prenatal and infant care services and other resources.

“People are comfortable with texting, and in other parts of the world, medical texting to monitor chronic diseases has been going on for years,” says Janet Sullivan, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Hudson Health Plan. “Studies have demonstrated that medical texting has the ability to help change patient behavior and improve health outcomes, and we believe that this program can have a significant impact on maternal and child health in our country. With texting, the right message is delivered to the right person at the right time.”

Each year in the United States, more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely, and an estimated 28,000 children die before their first birthday, signifying a public health crisis. The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is one of the highest in the industrialized world, and for the first time since the 1950s, that rate is on the rise. According to the Pew Research Center, only 74 percent of Americans have access to the Internet, while 90 percent have a mobile phone, and 88 percent of women of childbearing age regularly use text messaging, a percentage that keeps growing annually.

“We have vetted each text, and found them all to be informative and helpful, delivering timely health tips via text message to those who need it most,” says Dr. Sullivan. Hudson is getting the word out about text4baby through its “Mommy & Me” program, which assigns every expectant mother a nurse case manager who assists her in getting prenatal examinations and well-baby care for her newborn. In addition, Hudson will publicize text4baby in its member newsletter, on the home page of its Web site, and on its Facebook page.

“Text4baby complements ‘Mommy & Me,’ ” Dr. Sullivan adds. “It reinforces what our nurse case managers are already telling mothers-to-be and new moms. The more times the message is delivered, the better the chances of its being received.”

Judy Meehan, executive director of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, adds: “We believe the power of partnership and community can make an incredible difference in women’s and children’s lives. Text4baby, with the help of our partners, brings the coalition’s mission to life.”

Text4baby sponsors include Voxiva, CTIA-The Wireless Foundation, ghg (a WPP company) and founding corporate sponsor Johnson & Johnson. Premier sponsors include Wellpoint, Pfizer, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Implementation partners include BabyCenter, Danya International, Syniverse Technologies, Keynote Systems, and The George Washington University.

The text4baby wireless carriers are voluntarily providing the critical communications link of the initiative, distributing text messages to recipients at no charge. Participating carriers include: Alltel, AT&T, Cellular South, Cellcom, Centennial Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Metro PCS, N-Telos, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, and Virgin Mobile.

About Hudson Health Plan

Founded in the mid-1980s by a coalition of community health centers, Hudson’s mission statement is "to promote and provide access to excellent health services for all people." The Tarrytown-based not-for-profit organization provides comprehensive medical and dental coverage to more than 100,000 members in New York’s Hudson Valley. Hudson has been driving health care innovation by developing technology to support clinical quality initiatives and to streamline the enrollment process for Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus. According to A Consumer’s Guide to Medicaid Managed Care in the Hudson Valley, it has earned the highest ratings in overall satisfaction among Medicaid Managed Care members in the Hudson Valley region every year since 2003.

Hudson Health Plan is the winner of the 2010 Platinum Award for Overall Case Management from the Case Management Society of America’s Case in Point Magazine; the Case Management Society of America 2007 Award for Excellence in Medication Adherence Management; the 2006 Poughkeepsie Journal Diversity in the Workplace Award; the 2005 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Corporate Award for Diversity from the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester; the 2005 Advancements in Health Care Award from Hudson Valley Life and Hudson Valley Parent; and the 2003 Community Leadership Award from The New York Health Plan Association. Visit Hudson on the Web at www.hudsonhealthplan.org.

About the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition

The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) is the only coalition of its kind that acts as a catalyst for change by creating partnerships among community groups, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, businesses and government agencies. The Coalition promotes optimal health for mothers and babies, and works to strengthen families and build healthy communities.

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