For Immediate Release
October 17, 2005
Contact: Melanie McDonald, director of public relations, 574-284-4579

County Awards Grant to Saint Mary’s College: Nursing Students Study Local Fetal and Infant Mortality

NOTRE DAME, Ind.—The St. Joseph County Health Department wants to reduce local fetal and infant mortality, and they’ve asked the Saint Mary’s College Nursing Department to help. With approval from county commissioners, the health department awarded Saint Mary’s a $20,000 grant for a Fetal and Infant Mortality Research Review (FIMR) Case Abstract Project.

“Students will assist the county health department in determining the cause of fetal deaths in the last trimester of pregnancy, and the cause of infant deaths (first year of life) for 2005,” says Linda Zoeller, chair and associate professor of nursing at Saint Mary’s. “Our ultimate goal is to shed light on this serious public health problem.”

The team will analyze data provided by the county’s hospitals and emergency rooms. They will review autopsy reports and other medical details about the fetuses, infants and their mothers.

“By examining and organizing research data and looking at these cases as a whole, we hope to spot some trends that allow us to develop data-based interventions,” says Zoeller.

The county records 50 to 60 infant and fetal deaths each year.

The project is currently underway, and runs through February 2006.

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REPORTER CONTACT: Linda Zoeller, nursing department, 574-284-4679
SMC05-56