Dear Communities and Partners,



As we head into a new season, I want to reflect on the last. Throughout the newsletter, you’ll see program and data updates that reflect some of our efforts over the last few months. 

This summer, I also had the opportunity to visit Newcastle and connect with local public health. It was wonderful to hear about local efforts and challenges in MCH work. I also had the pleasure of visiting with Fremont County public health nurses, where I learned more about local home visiting efforts and the challenges families are experiencing. I had an opportunity to visit Wind River Family and Community Health Center, meet their MCH team, and learn about the mobile health units that are facilitating greater access to care. In Fremont County, I was also able to visit Dubois for a Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities training. During down time, several of us visited a local fish hatchery to learn about how fish are reared and stocked in Wyoming’s lakes. 

The coming season will greet us with its own busyness and demands. Our team will be moving into our needs assessment cycle to set the stage for our 2026-2030 priorities. As we begin the process, we will be identifying how best to engage you – our partners, stakeholders, and communities and families of Wyoming.

You can always reach me at [email protected]. 

Feliciana Turner

Maternal and Child Health Unit Manager

Title V Director

MCH Quarterly Highlights

Community and Family Engagement Policy Statement

Since May, the MCH Unit has been working with Wyoming’s Family Voices Affiliate and their network of family leaders, along with Young Adult Council members to develop a written policy statement to guide how we involve communities and families in our work. The group met four times over the summer, with the final meeting on September 21. At the final meeting, the group  reviewed the draft, made edits, and discussed any missing elements. We are in the process of finalizing edits and hope to release this statement in our next newsletter. Stay tuned!

Title V Review and Site Visit

On September 7 and 8, our team had the annual Title V Review, followed by a site visit. Consultants with expertise in maternal and child health, along with federal staff and partners highlighted some key strengths in our application, such as our strong partnership structure and data use. The review team also gave us things to consider, such as how to engage families and committees through an advisory group consisting mostly of community members and how we could include the voices of those community members in our future application submissions.

FFY 24/22 Title V Application and Report

MCH has completed and submitted their application/report which can be viewed here.

Medicaid Unwind

Wyoming Medicaid’s process to review client eligibility is underway. Medicaid enrollees can update their contact information online at www.wesystem.wyo.gov or by calling 1-855-294-2127. Renewal notices are being sent to a certain percentage of current enrollees each month. Not all clients receive their renewal notices at the same time. 

Renewals can be completed online at https://www.wesystem.wyo.gov/, over the phone with the Customer Service Center at 855-294-2127 or via a hard copy application. Hard copy applications can be downloaded at https://health.wyo.gov/healthcarefin/apply/ and returned to the Customer Service Center via mail, email or fax. Contact information is listed on page 10 of the application.

If an enrollee's benefits close, the case can be reopened to the date of coverage loss if they still qualify and turn in a renewal form and any missing documentation within 90 days. For most cases, the only items needed are the completed renewal and income verification for the last 30 days.

If there are questions about the status of a renewal or what documents are still needed, families should contact the WDH Customer Service Center at 855-294-2127.

It is important to know that children may remain eligible, even if parents or others in the household are not. And those who no longer qualify for Medicaid can qualify for special enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace. We want families to know about this process and be able to navigate it. Free assistance is available from Enroll Wyoming by calling 211 or visiting enrollwyo.org.

More information about Wyoming Medicaid can be found online at https://health.wyo.gov/healthcarefin/medicaid/. 

Syphilis Testing is Essential for All Pregnant Women

There are often no symptoms associated with syphilis infection. Untreated syphilis can cause major health issues including death in both patients and unborn children. 

Up to 40% of babies born to women with untreated syphilis may be stillborn, or die from the infection as a newborn. This is preventable with appropriate testing and treatment. 

Providers should test all pregnant women for syphilis as soon as possible after pregnancy is confirmed. Repeat testing should be provided to pregnant women throughout the duration of the pregnancy if any of the following apply to the patient or their partner(s):

• Patient or partner have other sexual partners
• Use of injection or intranasal drugs
• Unprofessional or homemade tattoo(s) or piercing(s)

Screening recommendations for pregnant women and testing algorithms can be found at https://health.wyo.gov/.../health-professional-resources/.

The Communicable Disease Unit currently recommends testing all sexually active individuals for syphilis. Frequency of testing is based on the individual risk of each patient. In general, test two weeks after each new partner (or exposure) or every 1-3 months for frequent partners or exposures. Patients who are a contact to syphilis may initially test negative however there are some cases where treatment may be indicated.” Wyoming’s specific STI testing recommendations are based on risk and can be found online at https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/communicable-disease-unit/sexually-transmitted-disease/health-professional-resources/.

To find low or no-cost testing sites in Wyoming or at-home testing options go to www.KnoWyo.org.

Family Resource Center Initiative Update

Wyoming communities need a coordinated, “no wrong door,” human services system to reduce barriers for Wyomingites. To support the development of a coordinated system, the Governor’s Health Task Force identified that multi-generational family resource centers, if established or strengthened, can address the gaps in human services access for Wyominites. 

Family resource centers (FRC) are community-based, flexible, family-focused, and culturally- sensitive hubs of support and resources that provide referrals, resources, programs and targeted services based on the needs and interests of individuals and families, from birth through end of life. 

The project has two primary goals: 

• Create a Statewide Network (Wyoming Family Resource Center Collective) whose focus will be to provide technical assistance and best practices for communities.
• Provide Grants to individual Wyoming communities to help establish and/or strengthen family resource centers. 

The Family Resource Center project management and implementation is led by the Wyoming Children’s Trust Fund. The project contact is Sara Serelson ([email protected]). 

Additional information including recent webinars and grant opportunities can be found at: https://pcawy.org/frc 

Act Early ECHO (Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes) Starting This Fall

This series is intended for health care providers, early childhood educators, community-based professionals, and administrators who work with and care for young children. The series will provide information and resources about current and emerging knowledge and evidence-based practices on the five components of early identification. Download the flier to learn more and get registration information.

Youth Poisoning Facts

New RSV Product for Infants: Nirsevimab

Repost from the Immunization Newsletter, by Heidi Gurov, RN - Nurse Consultant

Nirsevimab (Beyfortus) is a monoclonal antibody product from Sanofi that works as a passive immunization against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It is not a vaccine, but it is administered like one and offers short term protection against severe disease. Nirsevimab was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July, and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in early August.

Some of the recommendations include:

• All infants younger than 8 months born during or entering their first RSV season
• Infants and children aged 8 through 19 months who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease and entering their second RSV season

Nirsevimab can be given at the same time with other vaccines and will be available through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program in the coming months.

Full ACIP recommendations can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7234a4.htm

To help pediatric practices implement nirsevimab within their practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics has developed several web pages.

• Nirsevimab FAQs: Find answers to common questions about nirsevimab and administering it to patients.
• Product Information and Ordering: Access considerations for calculating and financing your order, product cost, product formulations, and storage requirements.
• Administration, Dosing and Schedule: Find the latest recommendations for nirsevimab, dosing guidance, and how it's administered.
• Payment and Coding: Learning more about what codes to use to get paid for administering nirsevimab in your practice.

Graduate Intern Project

MCH Epidemiology hosted a Graduate Student Epidemiology Program (GSEP) intern over the summer. This intern examined Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in the new WY Young Adult Survey administered in 2022 and complied an internal report on the impact SDOH were seen to have on young adults in Wyoming reporting they considered and/or attempted suicide.

PRAMS Represented at Laramie County Community Baby Shower

In September, Laramie County hosted a Community Baby Shower that the WY PRAMS team attended. The WY PRAMS team was able to discuss the PRAMS survey with over 125 Laramie County residents and handed out materials (PRAMS brochures, HEAR HER magnets, Maternal Mental Health Hotline wallet cards, and other MCH Unit and MCH Epi information) to all attendees. 

Epidemiology Fellow Presents Findings at National Conferences

In September, at the City MatCH conference in New Orleans, the MCH Council of State and Territorial (CSTE) Applied Epidemiology Fellow presented her findings about how drive times from residence to birth centers in Wyoming affect whether the birth was spontaneous or not, among low-risk births. Spontaneous births were defined as vaginal or cesarean birth without induction and after a trial of labor, while non-spontaneous births included any births that occurred after induction, or cesarean births that did not occur after trial of labor. This analysis found that mothers living more than 60 minutes away from the delivery facility (10% of the analysis population) had a 33% increased odds of non-spontaneous birth compared to mothers living 30 minutes or closer to their delivery facility. While recent research has demonstrated that inductions after 39 weeks do not increase risk for mothers or infants and may have some benefits such as reducing the risk of cesarean delivery, these findings demonstrate that accessibility of delivery care may impact the decisions that care providers and expectant mothers make regarding their delivery, which has ripple effects on the health of both mothers and infants during and after birth (Grobman et al, 2018).

MCH Program Updates

Youth and Young Adult Health Program

The Youth and Young Adult Health Program is partnering with the Injury Prevention Program and the Wyoming Department of Education to provide suicide postvention training to K-12 schools in August. Interested K-12 school districts can register for this free training using this form.

Women and Infant Health Program

The Women and Infant Health Program is excited to announce they have been awarded two new grants from CDC. One grant will support the Maternal Mortality Review Committee and the other will support the state's Perinatal Quality Collaborative. As these grants get underway, we will update our funding opportunities page on the MCH website with any requests for applications or proposals we issue to support implementation.

Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHCN) Program

The Genetics Program released a request for proposal for ongoing pediatric genetic clinics in Wyoming. The program awarded the contract to University Physicians of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. We’re happy to continue our partnership with them for future clinics.