The organization Kansas Action for Children has been analyzing the most recent infant mortality statistics available for the state...and while there's been some improvement, the situation is still not good. Initial indications show that in 2010, 254 Kansas infants died before reaching their first birthday. KAC's Shannon Cotsoradis (kot-suh-RAH-diss) says that when compared to the nation as a whole, the Kansas effort to reduce its infant mortality rate isn't doing very well:
Cotsoradis says the Kansas infant mortality rate ranks 37th-worst in the nation. A blue-ribbon task force created two years ago is continuing its exploration of why the state's infant mortality numbers are so high.