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Coordinated Lucas County Efforts Receive $2.67 Million To
Combat Infant Mortality
Special to The Truth
The Ohio Department of
Medicaid and its five contracted managed care plans have
awarded $2.67 million to bolster coordinated Lucas County
efforts to help ensure babies are born healthy and reach
their first of many birthdays. The Hospital Council of
Northwest Ohio is coordinating the two-year initiative aimed
at reducing Lucas County's infant mortality rate, which is
especially high among African-American babies.
From 2017 to 2018, Lucas
County's infant mortality rate among African Americans was
15.2 per 1,000 births, nearly three times higher than the
county's rate of 5.7 per 1,000 white births, according to
Ohio Department of Health statistics.
There were 47 deaths of African-American babies younger than
1, 42 deaths of white babies, and three deaths of babies of
other races for an overall Lucas County infant mortality
rate of 8.5 per 1,000 births from 2017 to 2018, according to
the statistics.
"As a nurse, I know
investments in clinical care and community-based services
are critical to reduce infant mortality and its racial
disparity," said Maureen Corcoran, Ohio's Medicaid Director.
"The Ohio Department of Medicaid and its managed care plan
partners remain committed to funding collaborative local
efforts in areas with the greatest racial disparities in
infant outcomes, ensuring that African-American babies have
the same chance to thrive in their first year of life as all
other infants."
Coordinated Lucas County
efforts to reduce infant mortality include enrolling women
who are pregnant or of child-bearing age in the Northwest
Ohio Pathways HUB, a community-wide care coordination
system. Key to the project are community health workers
employed at 11 care coordination agencies throughout Lucas
County who help connect women to needed medical and social
services, such as medical coverage, prenatal care, housing,
transportation and food.
Community health workers
working through the Northwest Ohio Pathways HUB serve women
at highest risk for having low birth weight and preterm
births, which are leading causes of infant mortality. From
2017 to 2018, the infant mortality among the system's
African American clients was 8.7 per 1,000 births, which was
significantly lower than the Lucas County rate of 15.2 per
1,000 African-American births, statistics show.
Care coordination agencies employing the system's community
health workers are Adelante, Baby University, Compassion
Health Toledo, East Toledo Family Center, La Posada Family
Emergency Shelter, Mercy Health, Neighborhood Health
Association, ProMedica Toledo Hospital, Toledo/Lucas County
CareNet, University Church and YWCA of Northwest Ohio.
"This funding from Ohio
Medicaid and its managed care partners provides a firm
foundation to continue our efforts to prevent African
American babies from dying at nearly three times the rate of
white babies," said Jan Ruma, Director of the Northwest Ohio
Pathways HUB and Vice President of the Hospital Council of
Northwest Ohio. "The Northwest Ohio Pathways HUB is making a
measurable difference in Lucas County, and the community
health workers will ultimately contribute to closing this
health disparity gap."
Other coordinated Lucas
County efforts to combat infant mortality that are part of
the initiative include:
* Offering doula
services to eligible clients of Healthy Start community
health workers at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.
* Having community
health workers at the health department and Frederick
Douglass Community Association help teens with reproductive
life planning.
* Having a community
health worker at Brothers United educate fathers on how to
support breastfeeding mothers.
* Creating the county's
first African-American women-led support group for mental
health.
The initiative is part of
efforts of the Toledo-Lucas Getting to 1 coalition, which is
coordinated by the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department and
the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio. The $2.67 million
funding awarded to the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio
will start January 1, 2020 and continue through December 31,
2021.
The Hospital Council of
Northwest Ohio (HCNO) is a regional hospital association
that represents and advocates on behalf of its members while
providing collaborative opportunities to improve community
health. HCNO coordinates several community health
initiatives, including the Northwest Ohio Pathways HUB and
the Healthy Lucas County coalition. Toledo/Lucas County
CareNet, a partnership that provides access to coordinated
healthcare services for low-income Lucas County residents,
contracts with HCNO for staffing and administration.
Additionally, HCNO coordinates regional disaster
preparedness and community health assessments in several
states. For more information, please visit
http://www.hcno.org.
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