Governor announces efforts to combat infant mortality

By Marc Kovac

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

Needy pregnant women in nine communities, including parts of Youngstown, Canton and Summit County, will have greater access to pregnancy-related health care and services, under a policy change announced last week by Gov. John Kasich.

The areas have been identified as “hotspots,” where infant mortality rates rank among the highest in the state. The change announced by the governor means women and babies in those communities automatically will be connected to subsidized health care.

“Now, instead of having a two-step process where you’ve got to go out and find them, they’re already eligible,” Kasich said. “And now, we have those full-scale health-care services for all of them.”

Kasich made the announcement at a summit focusing on infant-mortality issues. He used the occasion to sign HB 465, a new state law naming the first week in July as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Awareness Week.

The designation is aimed at drawing attention to “newborn babies exposed to addictive drugs while in utero,” according to the Legislative Service Commission. “At birth, the newborn may still be dependent on the addictive drug.”

The syndrome affects 88 in 10,000 live births in Ohio, according to state health officials.

Kasich also touted an expansion of Medicaid, saying 176,000 more women now have access to health coverage. And he vowed to fight to continue the expansion during the coming biennial budget debate.

“Nothing can get in our way on this,” he said.

Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally in infant mortality — the rate of babies who die within a year of birth. The state’s overall rate is 7.9 per 1,000 live births, compared with 6.1 nationally, according to statistics compiled by the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation.

The rate is even higher for black women — 15.5, or more than twice the rate for white women.