Prenatal Screening for Substance Abuse Conference in New Jersey

How many New Jersey women use substances while pregnant?   Attend an informative conference that will give you valuable insight into current outreach and screening efforts in our state.  This important event will be held on February 17th, at the Marriott Hotel in Trenton.  Get all the details here.    You can register on-line.

Newark Lead Coalition’s First Newsletter

The Newark Lead Coalition has released a digital and hard copy newsletter. You can view a copy of the Newark Lead Coalition’s first newsletter by clicking on this link.

We also welcome other newsletters for our readers to KNOW about. Please submit them to support@beintheknownj.org

NJ FASD Diagnostic Center Featured: Small Syndrome, Big Costs

Advance for Nurses published an article in its most recent magazine about ways nurses can fight fetal alcohol syndrome through education and spreading the word of its devastating effectsMore babies were born in the U.S. last year than ever before. According to preliminary data released in July by the National Center for Health Statistics, about 4,315,000 were born in 2007.That’s 15,000 more births than the peak time of the baby boom in 1957.

It is estimated that less than 1 percent of babies born last year were born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). From a purely statistical point of view, it doesn’t look like FAS is that big a medical issue — of those 4 million babies, only about 40,000 were born with this syndrome.

However, parents of children with FAS and the children themselves quickly learn just how medically devastating FAS is, said Cathleen Cahill, MSN, APN-C, RN. Cahill is a pediatric nurse practitioner and part of a cross-functional team at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, NJ, that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of FAS.

“These kids have significant learning and behavioral problems. There is no cure. It is life-long. It is devastating,” she told ADVANCE.

Cahill works in the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Diagnostic Center, which is part of a larger program called Children’s Hospital Assessment and Treatment Team (CHATT). It is one of 11 such centers operating in New Jersey, whose primary focus is the evaluation and diagnosis of children with FAS.

What Is Too Much?

FAS results when pregnant women drink alcohol which is highly toxic to the brain. Despite warning labels that abound on liquor, wine and beer bottles and in bars and restaurants, these women continue to drink. One reason, said Saidi Clemente, MD, is “…there is no consensus as to how much alcohol is too much. It is possible one drink won’t do anything, but you can’t say that for certain.”

Clemente, who is a developmental pediatrician with CHATT, said there is an easy way to prevent FAS: “To make it safe, no drinks — not even one. You don’t know how you will metabolize alcohol. There is no test for that, so the safest approach is no drinking.”

There is no evidence to indicate that even one drink won’t damage an unborn child’s development, Clemente continued. And there is no way to reverse the damage once it is done. The damage can be extensive, including microcephaly, craniofacial anomalies and neurobehavioral manifestations.

“These children may have normal IQs, but they may have problems in judgment, are not good at planning or organizing and not good with impulse control,” said Barbara Caspi, PhD, licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist.

Caspi, who has been coordinator of the CHATT program for 10 years, added secondary effects are just as devastating.

“Secondary problems include cognitive disorders, mental health problems, getting in trouble with the law, dropping out of high school and unwanted pregnancy.”

High Price Tag

FAS comes with a high price tag for the families it touches. It cascades into every aspect of their lives and follows the children throughout their lives. It also comes with a high price tag for the treatment and lifelong care of these patients.

A comprehensive review of data available on the cost of FAS was conducted by the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder Center for Excellence and published in 2003 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The study revealed the cost of providing treatment for babies born with FAS came in at more than $4 billion a year, every year. The lifetime cost of caring for every child born with FAS is $2 million or more.

Educational Difference

FAS is a medical tragedy made even worse by one simple fact.

“Unlike other syndromes you see in clinics, this is 100 percent preventable. And all of the effects are 100 percent preventable,” Clemente said. But, she emphasized, nurses can make a difference starting with education.

“[Education] is the key. Spread the word,” Clemente stressed. “It may take a little time to educate yourself and then to educate your patients. The word has to get out that a pregnant woman should never consume alcohol.”

Cahill agreed education is important, saying, “Nurses need to be aware of the problem themselves. They need to increase their own awareness and the awareness of anyone they work with.”

Cahill also thinks nurses need to “push for increased awareness throughout the community and more treatment options, too, whether it be through the schools, early intervention, community outreach programs, community health services or counseling.”

Nurses Play Pivotal Role

For Caspi, the nurse plays a pivotal role in both diagnosis and treatment. “Our nurse does outreach and is there with the physician. She talks to the families at the time the diagnosis is suspected. She talks to the patients about their lifestyle so they can understand the risks when they are pregnant, or just thinking about getting pregnant,” she said.

CHATT team members also advocate for programs that will identify women at risk and offer intervention and treatment, as well. But they can see and help only so many children every year. That’s where nurses everywhere can help, Caspi noted.

“Nurses have a role in preventing FAS from happening. Identify. Spread the word. And remember, it is preventable,” she said.

The number of children affected by FAS is small, but the damage alcohol does is devastating, Caspi reiterated. Nurses are uniquely positioned to make a difference. As the largest number of healthcare professionals in the U.S., they have a unique opportunity to help prevent FAS, mitigate the secondary effects of the syndrome and save children and families from the devastation it causes.

Pat Muccigrosso is a frequent contributor to ADVANCE.

Preventing Injury in New Jersey: Priorities for Action

Did you know that death rates from motor vehicle crashes in New Jersey are 40 percent below the national average?

Did you know that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death in New Jersey among children between the ages of 1 and 14?

Did you know that falls cause 200 deaths each year in the state?

Did you know that males are three times more likely to die from unintentional injuries as females?

Did you know that each year in New Jersey, 8,000 people suffer traumatic brain injuries—and 1,000 people die from those injuries?

These and other facts are contained in a report entitled, Preventing Injury in New Jersey; Priorities for Action, which includes wide-ranging recommendations for reducing injuries in eight key areas in descending order by number of fatalities:  motor vehicle accidents; unintentional poisonings; falls; fire and burns; sports, recreation and exercise; occupational injury; and unintentional childhood injuries.

The Department of Health and Senior Services convened an advisory committee to analyze data on unintentional and preventable injuries to produce the report. The panel included experts in medicine, academia, law enforcement, and the private and nonprofit sectors, as well as representatives of state and local government.

The report recommends dozens of steps that government, the public, schools, businesses, individuals and elected officials can take to improve prevention efforts and reduce the number of injuries in New Jersey each year.  

For example, to decrease accidental recreational injuries, the report recommends encouraging appropriate use of kneepads, batting helmets and safety glasses. The report also calls for reducing New Jersey’s above-average rates of pedestrian injury and fatality—especially among older adults. This is a priority for Governor Jon S. Corzine and the report notes that the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Motor Vehicle Commission are collaborating on $74 million worth of pedestrian safety interventions, crosswalk and intersection improvements and creation of safe routes to school and mass transit.

Governor Corzine urged New Jersey residents to take simple preventive steps—like buckling up and wearing helmets when riding bicycles—to protect themselves and their families from injuries at home, at work and in school.

“We all have a stake in preventing and reducing injuries,’’ said Governor Corzine. “We have comprehensive safety laws in place, but all of us in the public and private sector and in every community have to work together to raise awareness of preventive measures that each of us can take to avoid injury.’’

Commissioner of Health and Senior Services Heather Howard said the report is “an important step in evaluating how our limited resources should be targeted to accomplish the most significant public health benefit and sustain the progress already initiated by many in reducing preventable injury.’’

The report found, each year, unintentional injury causes 3,500 deaths and 60,000 injuries that require treatment in an Emergency Room or hospitalization.

Among the report’s other key findings:

• Motor vehicle crashes result in 770 deaths each year, and nearly as many people die from drug overdoses and poisonings

• Hundreds of New Jersey teenagers sustain concussions and other serious injuries while playing sports

• Falls cause nearly 200 deaths each year among seniors

• Approximately 150 New Jerseyans die each year from fires and drownings

• Nearly 950 deaths are the result of homicide and suicide each year

Several initiatives are already underway statewide to reduce injuries. For example, the Department of Health and Senior Services is working to prevent falls among the elderly through Project Healthy Bones, a 24-week education and exercise program for older residents at risk for osteoporosis. 

In New Jersey, anyone under 17 years of age who rides a bicycle or is a passenger on a bicycle, or is towed as a passenger by a bicycle must wear a safety helmet.

On Aug. 1, 1998 this helmet law was extended to include roller and inline skates and skateboards.

The report is available at the Department’s web site at:

www.nj.gov/health/chs/oisp/documents/injury_prevention.pdf

 

Want To Make A Difference? Join Together!

Join Together is a resourceful website providing detailed and specific information related to the advancement of alcohol policy and laws, prevention education and research on treatment.  Created as a program by the Boston University School of Program Health, its mission is to provide information, strategic planning assistance and leadership development for community based efforts in advocacy, education and treatment of substance abuse disorders.  Its emphasis is on community stakeholders becoming involved and making a difference in their respective community.  If you are looking to become involved and make a difference in your community, Join Together.

What is Nursing Spectrum?

Nursing Spectrum is a professional publication for registered nurses providing healthcare communication and information on career fairs, seminars, nursing excellence awards and healthcare articles in 12 regional areas.

An article of interest on their blog titled “Skilled Nursing Needs for Community Supportive Living for Clients with MRDD” is an example of the extensive content on this site.