Creating a Balanced Eating Plan

As a new school year is now in full swing, some of you or your children may be in college for the first time. This is a period of growth and learning to take care of yourself on your own. With this often comes making all of your own food choices, which can be a new experience for some. Keep reading to get some ideas on making balanced food choices during this exciting time!

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Missouri’s Maternal Mortality Report Published

JEFFERSON CITY, MO -- The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has published A Multi Year Look at Maternal Mortality in Missouri: 2017-2019 Annual Report on behalf of the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) board. The report is an aggregate of three years’ worth of work of the PAMR and is based upon the most recent data available.

PAMR is a multidisciplinary board of experts from across the state tasked with examining the causes and contributing factors associated with maternal mortality and ultimately forming recommendations that could prevent these deaths from occurring in the future.

The 2017-2019 annual report contains data including the timing and leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths, and factors that contributed to these deaths, such as mental health conditions and substance use disorder (SUD). The report also reflects the disparities that exist in our state and among our most vulnerable populations, including our Black and publicly insured communities.

Report highlights include:

  • Mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths, followed by cardiovascular disease.

  • All pregnancy-related deaths due to mental health conditions were determined to be preventable.

  • Black women living in Missouri are three times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women.

  • Women on Medicaid in the state of Missouri are eight times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than those with private insurance.

The PAMR board found that the pregnancy-related mortality ratio (PRMR) in Missouri was 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births from 2017-2019 and that 75 percent of these deaths were determined to be preventable.

The PAMR board continues to review cases and is nearly finished reviewing 2020 deaths and will begin reviewing 2021 deaths soon after. These reports will be made available once all cases have been reviewed. The 2017-2019 annual report can be viewed at Health.Mo.Gov/data/pamr.

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About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at Health.Mo.Gov or find us on Facebook and Twitter at @HealthyLivingMo.

Back to School Vaccines Are Available Now at JCHD

It’s ‘Back-to-School’ time and there’s a lot to coordinate! Let JCHD help take something off your list: Back to School Vaccines. Routine childhood vaccinations are an important way to help ensure that your child is protected against serious diseases, like measles and whooping cough.

We offer vaccinations at our office locations Monday-Thursday 8am-5:30pm. Appointments are highly encouraged, and a parent or guardian must be present for patients under the age of 18. To schedule an appointment, call 636-797-3737.

JCHD is a proud Vaccines for Children (VFC) program provider which provides vaccines at no cost to all eligible children. Children ages 18 and younger who meet one of the following criteria are eligible:

  • American Indian or Alaska Native

  • Medicaid-eligible

  • Uninsured

  • Underinsured

Missouri statutes require that students in certain grade levels receive specific immunizations before attending public schools. You can find that list of required vaccines for the 2022-2023 school year here.  CDC also provides a list of recommended vaccinations by age which can be found here (birth-6 years old) and here (7-18 years old).