Two state lawmakers are set on improving Ohio’s abysmal infant mortality rates.
Sens. Shannon Jones and Charleta Tavares plan to meet with health professionals and community members across the state to discuss how Ohio can address some of the worst infant mortality rates in the nation.
Ohio ranks 48th in the nation in overall infant mortality, 49th in black infant mortality and 37th in white infant mortality, according to National Center of Health Statistics.
“No matter how you slice this problem, it’s significant and way worse than the national average,” said Jones, a Southwest Ohio Republican and chair of the Medicaid, Health and Human Services Committee.
Statistics provided by Jones and Tavares show that between 2000 and 2010, infant mortality in Ohio grew by 3 percent. The national average decreased by 11 percent during the same period, the data showed.
In 2009, Ohio’s infant mortality rate was 7.7 per 1,000 live births. The national average was 6.4, according to NCHS statistics.
Jones and Tavares, a Columbus Democrat who sits on the Medicaid committee, have plans to meet with stakeholders in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Lima between late August and early October.
They hope to bring what they learn back to the Statehouse and possibly craft legislation to address the problem.
“The health of the state…is determined by the health of our babies,” Tavares said. “It takes a village to raise a child. It will take a village to correct these health disparities.”
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