(WESTBORO, MA -  April, 2007) – Health Professionals from across Western, MA came together on March 29th  for a March of Dimes Grand Rounds to learn about the latest research regarding the use of progesterone and its role in reducing the incidence of prematurity in singleton births.  The presentation was made by nationally known speaker, Karla Damus, RN, MSPH, PhD and Senior Research Associate for the March of Dimes and was supported by Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute (JJPI).  

Dr. Fadi Bsat, a physician in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Baystate Medical Center and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine, coordinated the Grand Rounds for Baystate Medical Center.  The event was also teleconferenced for doctors, nurses and other health care professionals at Umass Medical Center and Holyoke Hospital.    The Grand Rounds brought high quality, up-to-date and clinically useful information to those health professionals most in need of the information. An important objective of each session is to link the participants to other resources that March of Dimes and JJPI have and to facilitate the continuing education and important work of those who attend.

The demand for the Grand Rounds Program has consistently grown over the past four years and its success has led to an expansion of the JJPI and March of Dimes Partnership. With funding from JJPI, the March of Dimes has offered more than 20,000 frontline health professionals in 43 states the opportunity to learn from expert speakers such as Dr. Damus about topics such as the latest evidence-based advances in preventing as well as managing preterm labor and birth.
 
Dr. Damus RN, MSPH, PhD, the Senior Research Associate of the Office of the Medical Director of the March of Dimes, is also Associate Professor and the Director of Community Programs in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center. She is a guest lecturer for the March of Dimes and has presented across the country on a variety of topics in maternal and child health to health care professionals, policy-makers, and community constituents.

The March of Dimes remains committed to bringing these professional education initiatives to area health care providers as part of its mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  For more information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org for Spanish.
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