A new effort is under way to ensure more Indiana babies are able to blow out candles on their first birthdays. The state’s infant mortality rate is 25 percent higher than the national average. Indiana Sate Department of Health Commissioner Dr. William VanNess says reducing that number is the department’s top priority.
“Losing a child is one of the worst things that can happen to somebody. So it is about heartbreak. That’s why we’re saying this is like motherhood and apple pie. Nobody wants a baby not to get to their first birthday, and everybody should want to make a difference,” said VanNess.
