OHIO — Nationwide Children’s Hospital received a $4.7 million grant to implement the “Healthy Start Initiative” into three Appalachian Ohio counties.
The grant was awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and is the only Ohio Healthy start award focusing specifically rural Appalachian families alongside community partners in Ross, Pike and Scioto counties.
“Organizations in these counties offer many programs for families, and parents and caregivers need to know they have a supportive community looking out for them and committed to reaching them where they are,” said Stacy Kramer, director of regional wellness at Nationwide Children’s, in a news release. “This funding will help us expand the important work partners in these counties already do to support healthy families. We look forward to bringing multiple community partners together to help move the needle on not only infant mortality so more babies reach their first birthday, but overall family wellness, too.”
Infant mortality rates in this area of the state are higher than statewide and national averages, according to the Ohio Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Families face barriers including economic well being, housing affordability, access to child care and rural landscape challenges, such as transportation and broadband access.
“This initiative very much aligns with our long-standing commitment of advancing community health services for families in the areas we serve,” said Dr. Richard Villarreal, board-certified OB/GYN and Adena Women’s Health medical director, in a news release. “We look forward to even more opportunities to support the health of moms, babies, and families through this grant.”
Alongside county community partners, four key strategies will be implemented by the initiative, including placing community health workers into prenatal and pediatric settings to assist families in accessing evidence-based programs and address social health needs, such as food security and housing.
The second strategy is to build and expand support for health education, legal services, home visitation, behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment. Following this, a community consortium will be established comprised of local health care, public health care and social service partners. The goal is to coordinate clinical care and support services while promoting health education.
The final strategy to be implemented is to create a sustainable voice of community members able to lead the consortium and ensure community needs are being reflected.
“Working with the team at Nationwide Children’s to improve the health of infants and families in Scioto County is an exciting opportunity,” said McKenzie Lester, MBA, PTA, primary care operations manager at Southern Ohio Medical Center in a news release. “We look forward to being a part of this project.”