Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, which takes place annually from Feb. 7 - 14, highlights the importance of early identification, follow-up, and family support for children born with heart conditions. Last year, MDH and our partners conducted the CHSTRONG KIDS Survey to better understand the needs of caregivers navigating life after their child received a congenital heart defect diagnosis. The survey received 840 responses from Minnesota caregivers, which is a response rate of 37%, providing valuable insight into caregiver experiences, care coordination, and follow-up needs.

In addition to survey findings, local public health nursing data from 2025 show that 65% of children with a more severe, critical congenital heart defect were contacted by a local public health nurse and 24% were referred, or had been referred previously, to early intervention services, underscoring the critical role local public health plays in connecting families to timely supports and services.

Building a connection with families and learning from their stories is foundational to the practice of pediatric care coordination. With this understanding, the pediatric care coordination: community of practice is hosting five, one-hour office hours every Friday from Feb. 13 to March 13.

These office hours are intended to be informal and will focus on review and reflection of the Pacer Center’s Thriving Together series (noted above, or find more information on the Pacer Center’s training and workshops webpage). Each weekly office hour will include a summary of the webinars and small group discussions to connect with colleagues, reflect on stories from families, and share lessons from personal or professional experiences.

To join the office hours, complete the pediatric care coordination: community of practice registration form and join the community on Basecamp. For questions or more information, contact Community of Practice Coordinator, J.P. Mahoehney, at health.cyshn@state.mn.us

Feb. 18 – CYSHN condition follow-up community of practice

The next virtual CYSHN condition follow-up community of practice for LPH is Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 9 - 10:30 a.m. The purpose of these meetings is to provide routine opportunities for local public health nurses who provide follow-up for children referred by CYSHN programs (birth defects, EHDI, heritable conditions, congenital CMV) to learn condition-specific information and discuss nursing practice.

This month's meeting will include a presentation about cleft lip and palate by Jo Barta, MD Pediatric Craniofacial and Plastic surgeon from Gilette Children’s. One contact hour of continuing education will be offered for attending. All current CYSHN condition follow-up local public health nurses are welcome to attend. Please register for this virtual, optional meeting. This meeting will be recorded and available for 30 days following the presentation. If you have any questions you would like to submit in advance, email them to health.cyshn@state.mn.us with “local public health” in the subject line. 

Project ECHO: Prepare for Rare: Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing

The Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council is proud to partner with Stratis
Health and MDH to offer a new Project ECHO for providers caring for patients with rare diseases. Prepare for Rare: Newborn Screening and Genetic Testing occurs the third Thursday of each month starting on Thursday, Feb. 19 and runs through Thursday, June 18. These sessions will prepare clinicians for patients with positive
screens or puzzling symptoms who may be appropriate for genetic testing.
Continuing education credits are available.

Feb. 24 – Introduction to using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires®

The family home visiting section hosts a virtual training on the use and purpose of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ) for developmental and social emotional screening. Follow Along Program contacts who have not received ASQ training are welcome to register. Participants will also learn how to accurately choose, score, and interpret the questionnaires correctly. Registration is required and all participants must have access to the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 starter kits from Brookes Publishing either individually or through their employing agency. Register via the link below.

• Tuesday, Feb. 24, 8:30-11:30 a.m. via Microsoft Teams.
• Thursday, May 7, 12:30-3:30 p.m. (registration not yet open).
• Family Home Visiting will offer two additional trainings in 2026.

If registration has closed or appears to be full, please email health.homevisiting@state.mn.us and express your interest and availability, should additional spots become available.

Caring for American Indian and Alaska Native youth

The next webinars in a multi-part series designed for health professionals who work with and serve American Indian and Alaska Native children will be at noon on Tuesday, March 3 and Tuesday, June 2. These sessions will explore practical strategies through culturally informed care. Please register for the March session, titled Indian Health Service and American Indian/Alaska Native Healthcare Services.

This series is supported and brought to you in partnership with the University of Minnesota Medical School, the Center for American Indian and Minority Health, and MDH. If you have any questions, please contact the Center of American Indian and Minority Health at 218-726-7235.

March 5 – Rare Disease Day

The theme for 2026's Rare Disease Day program on Thursday, March 5 is "Therapies for the Few, Impact for Many: Rethinking How We Develop Rare Disease Treatments." The University of Minnesota aims to inform the rare disease community about the initiatives being undertaken by the FDA to accelerate development of therapies for rare diseases, how academic researchers can effectively collaborate with biomedical companies in the design and conduct of small N trials, and how patient advocacy organizations can best contribute to these activities. Attend in-person at the McNamara Alumni Center or virtually. The deadline for the Rare Disease Day 2026 RSVP form is Wednesday, Feb. 25.

A new short video helps families understand and reduce exposures to harmful chemicals in the home. Produced by MDH's Toxic Free Kids Program, the video is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali on the mnhealth YouTube channel.