LANSING - The Michigan Department of Community Health will host the Infant Mortality Summit from 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 5, at the Lansing Center. The summit, entitled Reducing Infant Mortality in Michigan: Lessons Learned From the Field, will be a meeting of stakeholders to share ideas and discuss lessons learned about ways to bridge the racial and ethnic disparity in infant mortality rates for Michigan. The other purpose is to gain additional stakeholder commitment to further efforts to reduce infant mortality in the state.

"Infant mortality is an extremely important issue in our state," said MDCH Director Janet Olszewski. "We must work hard to eliminate the ethnic disparity and decrease the overall rate in our state. This summit is an invaluable tool for our experts to gather and share ideas and strategies that could help reduce our overall rates."

In 2005, with a rate of 7.9 per 1,000 live births, Michigan ranked 40th in the nation in overall infant mortality. In 2006, Michigan's overall infant mortality rate dropped to 7.4 per 1,000 live births, with a significant drop in the African-American infant mortality rate from 17.9 in 2005 to 14.8 in 2006. However, the disparity between African American and white infant mortality rates remains alarming. In 2006, the African-American infant mortality rate was 2.7 times higher than the white infant mortality rate at 5.4.

In addition to MDCH, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Maternal and Child Health Bureau/Health Resources and Services Administration/US Dept of Health and Human Services, Genesee County REACH US, Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, WK Kellogg Foundation, and the Prevention Research Center of Michigan are sponsors for the event.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Michael Lu, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Director of the Child and Family Health Training Program, UCLA School of Public Health. Dr. Lu is widely recognized for his research, teaching and clinical care in maternal and child health. Barbara Sabol, of the WK Kellogg Foundation, also will be featured in a plenary session and will address the impact of racism on infant mortality.