Save Babies Joins Partners of the Heart to Recognize National Newborn Screening Awareness Month

WESTCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Save Babies Through Screening Foundation (SBTS), the only national volunteer-run nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to advocacy for newborn screening (NBS), today announced a collaboration with Partners of the Heart (POTH), a social enterprise that chronicles healthy lives, for National Newborn Screening Awareness Month. SBTS and POTH will partner to build awareness around the public health value and importance of comprehensive newborn screening programs.

"Every newborn in the world deserves access to newborn screening, diagnosis, treatment and the best possible quality of life," said Jill Levy-Fisch, President of SBTS. "National Newborn Screening Awareness Month provides us with an opportunity to educate parents, pediatric healthcare providers and policy makers about available newborn screening tests that can help detect over 50 heritable disorders that might affect a child's long-term health or survival. Combining our broad experience and support for newborn screening with POTH's influence and reach will help us move closer to achieving these goals."

Under the terms of the partnership, POTH has awarded a multi-year grant to SBTS to create educational programs, expand outreach efforts geared toward new and expecting parents as well as help train volunteers and fund vital research for new screening tests. To raise awareness around National Newborn Screening Month, SBTS and POTH have launched the 1 Billion Happy Baby Stories Mosaic, an interactive electronic message board where users can view, post and share positive "stories" of love, life, health and happiness. In addition, SBTS has developed new educational materials to inform the public about the need for universal comprehensive newborn screening for all detectable disorders.

"We are thrilled to partner with Save Babies Through Screening Foundation and participate in National Newborn Screening Awareness Month," said POTH co-founder Bennett Sandy Masin. "Storytelling is a powerful medium through which people can transform the world simply by connecting with others through their shared experiences. By working with SBTS, our mosaic of 1 Billion Happy Baby Stories will play a central role in raising awareness around newborn screening and encourage people to take action and get involved well beyond the month of September." 

Visit 1 Billion Happy Baby Stories during National Newborn Screening Awareness Month and share your experiences at www.happybabystories.com.

About Partners of the Heart

Partners of the Heart is an affinity marketing aggregator providing heartbeat stories mosaic counting technology in the health, education and wellness space. Our mission is to facilitate a widespread social movement counting heartbeats while chronicling one billion plus stories of happier and healthier lives. POTH provides, among other things, a web-based marketing platform and promotional plan to collect and promote positive messages or "heartbeat stories" regarding positive life stories.

POTH offers Free Sponsor Triangulation International Social Enterprise (TISE) programs to grow and retain customers' brand loyalty from the heart. TISE programs strive to impact a positive triple bottom line improving people, planet and profits.

For more information, please visit www.1billionheartbeats.com.

About Save Babies Through Screening Foundation

Comprised of volunteers whose lives have been touched by newborn screening (NBS), Save Babies Through Screening Foundation is the only advocacy organization in the country dedicated to NBS. SBTS aims to educate parents, pediatric healthcare providers and policy makers about available comprehensive NBS, the importance of obtaining positive or other test results requiring follow-up actions within five days of birth, and the importance of prompt confirmatory testing and treatment/management when needed. The Foundation's goal is to see that every baby born in the U.S. is screened successfully, effectively and comprehensively.

For additional information about SBTS, to learn how you can get involved in the cause and to share with families, please visit www.savebabies.org and connect with SBTS on Facebook and Twitter. 

For further information, please contact:
Jill Levy-Fisch
President, Save Babies Through Screening Foundation
914.588.1127
[email protected]

SOURCE Save Babies Through Screening Foundation