The first round of community health workers who’ll help try to reduce Columbus’ infant mortality rate graduate from their training on Monday.
The workers will help educate mothers-to-be in Linden, the Near East Side, the Hilltop and other low-income neighborhoods where infant mortality rates rivals those of third-world countries.
Funding for their training comes from a grant from the United Health Foundation. The foundation’s Tony Marusic says the grant will eventually pay for training for 72 people who will help connect expectant mothers with available services.
“… conduct this outreach, build the trust, and kind of reduce the barriers, to reduce the risk for increased rates of infant mortality," Marusic says.
When it comes to infant mortality rates, Columbus and Ohio as a whole rank woefully low compared to the rest of the country.
Ohio’s infant mortality rate for black babies is second-worse in the nation.
