Who:         Knox County Health Department (KCHD)

What:       KCHD will host an open casting call to find local babies to star in the 2017 Strong Babies public health campaign. More information, including eligibility, may be found at StrongBabyKnox.org.

When:      Saturday, Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Where:    KCHD’s main location, 140 Dameron Ave.

Earlier this year, KCHD launched the Strong Babies project to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality rates. Based on a highly-successful campaign created by Serve Marketing and conducted by the City of Milwaukee Health Department, the effort uses lighthearted and attention-grabbing images of stronger-than-average babies to rally the community around the importance of changing the conditions that lead to healthier infants and families. The educational campaign focuses on the importance of early and adequate prenatal care, breastfeeding, good nutrition, avoiding tobacco, and many other healthy behaviors.

Improving the well-being of mothers, infants and children is an important community health goal for KCHD, as reflected in the organization’s Community Health Assessment. The Strong Baby project is an outcome of KCHD’s Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) program, which is funded by a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health. FIMR is an action-oriented community process that continually assesses, monitors and works to improve service systems and community resources for women, infants and families.

For more information, contact Katharine Killen at 865-215-5534 (office) or 865-755-1121 (cell).