Columbus City Council Approves Additional Funding for Celebrate One
For Immediate Release
February 23, 2015
For More Information:
John Ivanic, City Council, 645-6798
The Columbus City Council passed legislation to provide
additional funding for Celebrate One, the
community’s effort to lower the infant
mortality rate. Celebrate One is a collaborative approach to
reducing infant deaths in a number of the most challenged Columbus
neighborhoods and has been a major public policy initiative of Council
President Andrew J. Ginther.
“I want to thank my
Council colleagues for recognizing the importance of investing lifesaving
programs that will also improve the safety and economic vitality of some of our
poorest Columbus neighborhoods,” said Council President Ginther. “Our current infant mortality rate is unacceptably high and does not reflect
the values and resources in our community.”
In 2014, 145 babies in
Franklin County died before reaching the age of one, with black babies more
than twice as likely as white babies to die before their first birthday.
The Near South Side, Near
East Side, and South Linden will pilot the implementation of the Celebrate One
program. Nearly a quarter of all infant deaths in Franklin county occur in these
areas. Successful initiatives in these neighborhoods will guide efforts
in the Hilltop, Franklinton, Northeast and Southeast Columbus, and the
Northland area around Morse Road and State Route 161.
Councilmembers approved a $496,312 budget amendment that will be paired with $475,000 already provided in Mayor
Coleman’s budget to increase the overall investment in Celebrate One to
$971,312. The money will be used to develop strategies that align
existing community resources, will reduce Columbus’ infant mortality by 40% and
cut the racial disparity in half by 2020.
“Infant mortality is not
just a healthcare issue,” said Ginther. “The work of the Greater Infant
Mortality Task Force, with some of the brightest health care minds in our
community represented in the group, showed we must focus resources not
only on access to care for babies and women, but also on jobs, education,
housing, and safety.”
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