Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force Examines Successful Strategies from Other Cities
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 31, 2014
For More Information:
John Ivanic, (614) 645-6798
Columbus, Ohio – Columbus can solve its infant mortality
crisis by studying what other communities have successfully done.
That was the message Friday as the Greater Columbus Infant
Mortality Task Force held its inaugural meeting to address the major
contributing factors to infant mortality, premature births and sleep-related
deaths.
“This is not just a problem for the city of Columbus, this
is a problem for the whole state,” said Ohio First Lady Karen Kasich, honorary
co-chair of the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force. “We’ve been given
a great opportunity to gather our resources, refine our ideas and move
forward.”
City Council President Andrew J. Ginther announced the task
force in November, a month in which 11 babies died in Franklin County before
their first birthday. Annually, an average of 150 Franklin County babies die
before they turn one. Most of those deaths are preventable, local health
officials say.
“The Task Force is off to a strong start in its work to
reduce infant mortality in our community,” said Council President Ginther, who
authored a recent Columbus Dispatch editorial on infant mortality. “I’m grateful
to the public health experts, civic leaders, and Columbus parents and families
who are working together to make sure that all of our children have the chance
to live healthy, happy lives.”
National public health leader Magda G. Peck, ScD, led the task
force in an overview of the country’s high infant mortality rate and how other
American cities are solving the problem. Dr. Peck, founding dean of the Joseph
J. Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has
worked closely with local, state and federal organizations to improve maternal
and child health in urban communities.
Dr. Peck’s presentation, “Too Many, Too Wide and Too Soon,”
highlighted the growing infant mortality rates in American cities and the
forces that drive those numbers, such as premature births and various
socioeconomic factors.
Additionally, local and national experts outlined successful
ways other communities have lowered infant mortality rates. This panel
discussion included insights from Dr. Mysheika Roberts, assistant commissioner
and medical director at Columbus Public Health; Rev. John Edgar, pastor and
executive director of Community Development for All People; and Chad Abresch,
executive director of CityMatCH.
“Infant mortality is viewed as an indicator of a community’s
health, and health is about so much more than medicine,” said Dr. Roberts. “Our
health is driven by where we work, where we live, where we learn and where we
play.”
“The Task Force will look at what’s happening in the
Columbus community and what we can do to improve and ensure more babies reach
their first birthday,” she added.
Dr. Arthur R. James, general obstetrician and gynecologist
and associate clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, provided a thorough
examination of the infant mortality crisis, how it compares to national data
and the root causes of the major contributors to infant mortality.
“In order to get to the root cause of infant mortality, we
must take a look at what is driving the prematurity and infant deaths that are
sleep-related,” said Dr. James. “The common denominator is the social
determinants of health, such as housing, education, food, substance abuse and
safety.”
For a list of the complete task force members, materials
from the meeting and to watch the Task Force meeting, please visit
gcinfantmortality.org. An informational video about this public health crisis
is available here.
The next meeting of the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality
Task Force is schedule for Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 from 9 a.m. to noon at
Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The Task Force will look at the importance of
“race and place”’ on health and its impact on the health of women and babies.
About the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force
Columbus City Council President Andrew Ginther – with the
support of Columbus City Council Member Michelle Mills, Mayor Michael B.
Coleman, and Franklin County Commissioners John O’Grady, Paula Brooks and
Marilyn Brown – charged Columbus Public Health to partner with Nationwide
Children’s Hospital and other stakeholders to establish a Task Force and
generate a community plan to reduce the infant mortality rate in
Columbus/Franklin County to the Healthy People 2020 goal of six deaths per
1,000 live births, and reduce by half the number of infant deaths among our
most vulnerable populations.