Nationwide Children’s Hospital Receives HRSA Grant, Strives to Improve Maternal and Infant Health in Southeast Ohio

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded Nationwide Children’s Hospital a $4.7 million grant for the implementation of the Healthy Start Initiative, striving to improve the health of moms and babies in three Appalachian Ohio 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. “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.”

The hospital’s award is the only Ohio Healthy Start award exclusively serving rural Appalachian families. In this area of the state, infant mortality rates are higher than statewide and national averages, according to the Ohio Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Barriers that contribute to infant health disparities in these counties include economic well-being, housing affordability, access to childcare and rural landscape challenges such as broadband access and transportation.

“This initiative very much aligns with our long-standing commitment of advancing community health services for families in the areas we serve,” said Richard Villarreal, MD, board-certified OB/GYN and Adena Women’s Health medical director. “We look forward to even more opportunities to support the health of moms, babies, and families through this grant.”

In collaboration with community partners in Ross, Pike and Scioto counties, and in alignment with priorities outlined by the Ohio Department of Youth, four key strategies will be implemented through the Healthy Start funding:

1. Embedding community health workers into prenatal and pediatric settings to help families access evidence-based programs and address needs related to social determinants of health, such as food security and stable housing.
2. Building and expanding support around health education, legal services, home visitation, behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment.
3. Establishing a community consortium composed of local health care, public health and social service partners to coordinate clinical care and social support services, share health outcome data and promote health education.
4. Growing a sustainable voice of local community members to co-lead the community consortium to help ensure Healthy Start implementation reflects community needs.

“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. “We look forward to being a part of this project.”

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About Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.

About Adena Health Adena Health is an independent, not-for-profit and locally governed health care organization delivering on its mission, “called to serve our communities,” for more than 125 years. A regional economic catalyst, Adena Health is composed of more than 4,200 employees – including more than 200 physicians and 150 advanced practice providers. With hospitals containing a total of 341 beds, regional health centers, emergency and urgent care services, and primary and specialty care practices, Adena Health serves more than 400,000 residents across nine counties in south central and southern Ohio through its network of more than 40 locations. Its hospitals include the 266-bed Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe and three 25-bed critical access hospitals—Adena Fayette Medical Center in Washington Court House; Adena Greenfield Medical Center in Greenfield; and Adena Pike Medical Center in Waverly. Adena Health specialty services include orthopedics and sports medicine, heart and vascular care, pediatric and women’s health, and oncology services.

About Southern Ohio Medical Center Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) is a 211-bed 501(C)(3) not-for-profit hospital in Portsmouth, Ohio, providing emergency and surgical care, as well as a wide range of other health-care services; SOMC has been in the community since 1954.