Kappa Journal Spring Issue (Spring 2017)

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Healthy Kappas/Healthy Communities Recognized for its Awareness Efforts Around SIDS at Home and Abroad

F or more than two decades, First Candle has focused on reducing the rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and stillbirth as well as supporting those who have experienced a loss.

national partnerships to achieve equity in birth out- comes throughout the United States,” stated Scott. “It was well-received.”

Why are People Excited about this Initiative?

At the heart of the HK/HC is promoting awareness of the chronic conditions that exert a major burden on the

In November, First Candle honored Kappa Alpha Psi® with its Visionary Award at The Pierre in New York City.

quality of life and life expectancy of all Americans, but particularly for vulnerable populations, such as those with a history of disparities in care, lack of knowledge about chronic diseases or how to manage them, poor access to health services, or other causes for suboptimal outcomes. Kappa Alpha Psi ® works through its mem- bership to promote safe sleep practices among parents and caregivers—particu- larly fathers—to reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant death. The membership has been charged with communicating the important role men have in being able to teach other men such as fathers, grandfa- thers, uncles, brothers, and other commu- nity stakeholders about the ways to reduce SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

With more than 150 attendees gath- ered under the theme of the charity gala “Voices in Unity,” Kappa Alpha Psi ® was heralded as reinforcing the belief that it takes numerous voices coming together to support new and expecting parents in educating them about SIDS and Stillbirth. Kappa Alpha Psi ® was chosen for its effort to educate men all over the world on sleep-related causes of infant death through Healthy Kappas/Healthy Com- munities initiative (HK/HC), Kappa’s national health and wellness initiative. “Kappa Alpha Psi’s efforts contrib- uted so greatly to the overall mission,” stated Karen Sackowitz, First Candle’s PR communications specialist. “The fraternity offered something very real that was impactful to this cause.”

The initiative has been successful in that there have been increased collaborations and alliances within communities with Kappa chapters to assist in education and awareness activities around SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death. The initiative has been further successful because Kappa has been able to communicate the key role men have in being able to teach other men and other com- munity stakeholders about the ways to reduce SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death. Overall, Kappas have been actively working to help other men become not only healthy men but also healthy and good fathers, through a series of discussions focused on les- sons learned, sharing wisdom that can be passed on to others to reduce infant mortality and improve perinatal outcomes.

Delegates Learn about Kappa Alpha Psi ®

Rodney C. Perkins (Silver Spring (MD) Alumni 2007) and Dr. Stacy Scott, SIDS liaison to HK/HC initiative, presented at the International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS and Baby Survival in Montevideo, Uruguay in September. “We were able to show how Kappa Alpha Psi under the Healthy Kappas Healthy Communities banner has worked through its membership to promote safe Infant sleep practices among parents, caregivers and particularly fathers in an effort to reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant death focusing on the African American communities,” stated Perkins. “The session also detailed how Kappa focused on the development of

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Publishing achievement for more than 100 years

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