CelebrateOne: Ensuring Every Baby Celebrates His or Her First Birthday

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

On average, every week in Franklin County nearly three families experience the death of a baby before his or her first birthday. Nearly 150 infants die in Franklin County each year, and the rate at which African American babies die is more than twice that of white babies. In 2014, Columbus City Council President, now Mayor, Andrew Ginther launched a community-wide effort to address this devastating truth. Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady joined Mayor Ginther and leaders from across the community on a task force to develop evidence-based strategies to lower Franklin County’s infant mortality rate. The resulting coordinated campaign, known as CelebrateOne, marks an unprecedented effort to reduce the county’s infant mortality rate by 40 percent, and cut the racial health disparity in half by 2020. Franklin County has taken the lead in implementing key strategies under CelebrateOne by leveraging existing resources to improve women’s health before pregnancy, improve prenatal care systems and supports for high risk families, and promote infant safe sleep. Though the work is far from complete, we have seen marked increases in Medicaid enrollment among eligible pregnant women and those of child-bearing age, in community awareness of infant safe sleep methods, and in the recognition that everyone is responsible for ensuring every Franklin County baby celebrates his or her first birthday.