Infant Mortality Review Committee moves into executive session to discuss confidential infant deaths

Shana LaFlamme, nurse consultant for the Infant Mortality Review Program at the Department of Public Health and co-chair, opened the Jan. 14 Infant Mortality Review Committee meeting, called the roll and asked for edits to the minutes from the committee's Dec. 3 meeting. With no edits offered, a motion to approve the minutes was made and seconded; no objections were recorded on the transcript.

LaFlamme invited public comment and said the committee would not enter into dialogue with commenters. After briefly pausing for any speakers, she announced that the committee would move into executive session: "The committee will be entering into executive session. This is a closed discussion to discuss confidential matters related to infants in Connecticut requiring privacy to deliberate on this issue." A motion to enter executive session was made and seconded; the chair asked participants to raise a hand if opposed and, "Seeing no hands, we will move into executive session on our Zoom link and reenter the public session here to adjourn." The transcript records no objections.

Several committee members introduced themselves during roll call, including Deanna (general pediatrician at Yale New Haven Health and co-chair), Greg Vincent (medical examiner's office), Sundace Casimir (child abuse pediatrician, DART team at Yale), Brooke Redmond (neonatologist, Yale), Brendan Burke (office of the child advocate and coordinator of the state child fatality review panel), Regina Usu (nurse consultant with DSS), Kesha Hewitt (supervisor nurse consultant, Office of Early Childhood), Kim Koranda (section chief, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services), Julie Vihild and Paul Gacek (Connecticut Department of Public Health), Lisa Butrus (epidemiologist, Department of Public Health), and clinicians from Connecticut Children's and Backus.

The committee's stated reason for closing the meeting — confidential deliberations about infant deaths — is consistent with the committee's role in reviewing individual cases to identify prevention opportunities while protecting privacy. The committee left the public portion of the meeting and moved into executive session; the transcript ends with the chair indicating the group would reenter the public session to adjourn.