Maternal & Child Health
Bright Start
Bright Start
Bright Start supports expectant, first-time moms by connecting you with a free personal nurse to walk alongside you every step of your pregnancy. Bright Start nurses meet you where you're comfortable and they're a text away to connect over everything from common concerns to preparing for childbirth. We offer education, support, guidance and resources to assist them in becoming the best mothers they can be. Most importantly, your nurse helps you build confidence in your decision-making as a mom.Â
BHSSC staff also support Bright Start staff to implement continuous quality improvement projects which improve outcomes for the moms and babies supported by the program.
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
The South Dakota Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (SD CLPPP) helps protect children and families from the dangers of lead exposure. Supported through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the program focuses on preventing lead poisoning in children under six years of age. We work with healthcare providers, parents, and community partners to promote blood lead testing, raise awareness about lead hazards, and share simple steps families can take to keep their homes lead-safe. Our goal is to help every child in South Dakota grow up healthy, safe, and lead-free.
SD Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program | South Dakota Department of Health
Family and Community Health Informatics
Family & Community Health Informatics
The BHSSC Health Informatics Analyst provides data support to the Office of Public Health Nursing. Public Health Nursing provides many crucial services to the community such as pregnancy care support and immunizations. The Informatics Analyst analyzes data from the EHR they utilize and builds and provides reports to support their work.
Infant & Child Mortality
Infant & Child Mortality
BHSSC Pediatric Mortality staff support South Dakota’s Child Death Review (CDR) program by collecting, analyzing, and archiving data on deaths of children aged 0–12 from law enforcement, medical providers, CPS, and other agencies to assess patterns, risk factors and opportunities for prevention. As a member of both East and West River CDR Teams, they contribute to quarterly case reviews and help develop recommendations to prevent future deaths and monitor trends, while also producing reports, dashboards, and visualizations that inform public health decisions. Staff support Title V Block Grant reporting and CDC’s Sudden Unexpected Infant Death prevention efforts by monitoring mortality trends and evaluating social determinants of health. This work turns complex data into actionable insights that inform policy, guide prevention efforts, and improve health outcomes for South Dakota families.
Infant and Child Death Review (ICDR) | South Dakota Department of Health
Maternal Mortality
Maternal Mortality
Between 2014-2023, seventy-nine South Dakota mothers lost their lives during or shortly after pregnancy. This represents an average mortality rate of 68.7 deaths per 100,000 live births, based on 114,916 total births (SD Department of Health, 2025).
BHSSC supports the South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH) by providing data abstraction for all maternal deaths (deaths which occur during pregnancy or within one year of the end of the pregnancy) in the state. The Maternal Mortality Data Abstractor is responsible for reviewing each case, abstracting pertinent data, and writing case narratives to present to the SD DOH Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC). The MMRC is a multidisciplinary expert panel with representation from public health, nursing, maternal and fetal medicine, mental health, substance use, pathology, obstetrics/gynecology, law enforcement, and social work. The MMRC determines pregnancy-relatedness, preventability, and contributing factors to each death, and develops recommendations based on these factors to improve policies and practices and reduce preventable maternal deaths in South Dakota. Understanding these tragic deaths helps to prevent future such losses (SD DOH, 2025). Efforts are currently underway to:
- Improve access to high-quality prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.
- Tackle social factors that contribute to health disparities.
- Provide education and resources to at-risk communities.
- Support healthcare providers with training and tools to manage complex pregnancies.
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Vaccines for Children
Vaccines for Children
The Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program helps ensure that all children have access to life-saving vaccines, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. Our VFC Program Specialists, supports healthcare providers through education, compliance visits, and guidance on vaccine management to promote safe storage and accountability. We’re committed to helping clinics serve families and keep communities healthy by preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Immunizations & Vaccinations | South Dakota Department of Health