Infant Health Implementation Team

The role of the Infant Health Implementation Team is to ensure optimal health for all children in Kent County by improving and providing quality care during the prenatal, infant, and childhood periods.

Currently, the Infant Health I-Team is striving to reduce overall infant mortality by eliminating racial disparities in prenatal care. For example, research shows that African Americans are twice as likely as whites to deliver a low birth weight baby, which is a leading risk factor for African American infant mortality.

As a result, the team has developed a set of core concepts for prenatal care for our community. The core concepts will encourage health and human service providers to assess several risk factors leading to low birth weight babies and include the best practices to utilize for each risk factor. It is the Infant Health Implementation Team’s desire that the core concepts and best practices will promote a standard of quality care for all pregnant women, reduce racial disparities in prenatal care, and improve infant health overall.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Infant Health I-Team meetings. The team meets every second Tuesday of the month, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Kent County Health Department.

Organization Chart

Infant Health Implementation Team Coordinators:

Co-chairs:

Sue Sefton
Community Nursing
Kent County Health Department
700 Fuller N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Phone: (616) 632-6951
Fax: (616) 632-7075
E-mail:

Peggy VanderMeulen
Program Director
Grand Rapids African American Health Institute
Cook-De Vos Center for Health Sciences, Suite 400
301 Michigan N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Phone: (616) 331-5838
Fax: (616) 331-5839
E-mail:

Vice-Chair

Emmy Ellis
Arbor Circle
1101 Ball Ave., N.E.
Gramd Rapids, MI 49503
Phone: (616) 458-2133
Fax: (616) 459-0095
E-mail: