Delton Atkinson, Director of the Division of Vital
Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS), recognized Minnesota’s vital records system for overall
outstanding performance on birth data submitted in 2015 and early 2016. He
presented the award to Molly Crawford, State Registrar, and Sally Almond, Field
Representative, at the annual National Association of Public Health Services
and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) Conference in Kansas City, Mo., on June 15. Atkinson applauded the state saying,
“Minnesota should be proud of its significant efforts at consistent high
performance and its efforts to continue to excel. It is a pleasure to work with
such an enthusiastic, responsive and high performing team.”
According to Atkinson, this year was the first in many
years that NCHS offered awards for overall outstanding performance on its Vital
Statistics Cooperative Program contract deliverables for completeness,
timeliness, quality and responsiveness. NCHS divided the 57 jurisdictions legally
responsible for the registration of vital events into three equal tiers based
on birth volume--Minnesota was selected as the highest performing state for the
middle tier. Performance was based on Minnesota’s use of the State and
Territorial Exchange of Vital Events (STEVE) System to share vital event data
with the jurisdiction in which the individual resides; file completeness;
reporting timeliness; low numbers for natality unknowns and validations; and consistent
informative and timely responsiveness to NCHS.
NCHS also recognized Missouri in the largest tier and both South Dakota and Idaho which tied for the smallest tier.
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Hospital partners selected for the Beginnings and Beyond Engagement (BABE) Project
On May 19, 2016, the Office of Vital Records (OVR)
invited hospitals to partner with OVR in a new quality improvement initiative
to increase the completeness of birth record data. The Beginnings and Beyond
Engagement (BABE) Project will look at the process and methods used to collect
self-reported data from mothers and recommend process improvements for more
complete data.
OVR is pleased to announce that Regions Hospital and HealthEast
St. John’s Hospital have been selected to partner with OVR in the BABE project.
Together, we will begin to examine data collection, registration processes, barriers
and impediments to completeness, the effectiveness of tools, and other factors
that influence completeness of mother’s self-reported data items:
- Mother’s Education Level
- Mother’s Race
- Mother’s Ethnicity
- Mother’s Cigarette Smoking
Thank you to everyone who volunteered and responded with
interest in the BABE project. OVR welcomes and encourages all hospitals to
participate at some level from providing general information through survey
responses, interviews, or consultation and advice. Look for further
communications from OVR to participate. Through these means, hospital staff and
OVR can work together to improve processes and provide needed complete and
reliable vital records data.
For more information about the BABE project, visit the Birth and Fetal Death Registration Information for Hospital Staff website at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/osr/birthreg/index.html.
Southdale Service Center grand reopening
 After forty-two years on York Avenue, the Hennepin County Southdale Service Center has moved back to its original location in the Southdale Mall. The newly relocated service center opened for business on May 31, 2016 after a ten day hiatus. Brightly lit, accessible, and conveniently located for pedestrians, cars or transit, it is located on the first floor of the mall between JCPenney and Herberger’s.
Service center staff hosted a grand reopening June 13, 2016, which included an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and brief remarks from Hennepin County Commissioners Jan Callison and Randy Johnson, Edina mayor Jim Hovland, and Richfield mayor Debbie Goettel.
Bringing services to where the people are, is part of the county’s strategic mission. “We have taken this community-centered approach when planning our other Human Service Centers, as well as our Veterans Services across the county,” stated Commissioner Callison. “As we look to the future, modernizing and improving the efficiency of our buildings will provide a better experience for our residents and ensure the best value for our tax dollars.”
In the first five days staff completed 2,273 transactions, a little more than the same time period last year.
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