A Year of Progress for Cincinnati
One year ago, Cradle Cincinnati’s partners gathered at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to unveil an ambitious new plan to reduce infant mortality in Hamilton County. The plan, developed with input from more than 450 residents, set our community on a new shared path to address some of the root causes of infant death and to spread promising models from our first 5 years of collaborative work.
This is a long journey and we cannot rest. But one year into our plan, Cincinnati has a lot to be proud of. Highlights from this first year include:
Fewer babies died. 2018 saw the lowest infant mortality rate (8.6) in Hamilton County history. The journey ahead continues to be long, but we are headed in the right direction.
More neighborhoods got more support. The State of Ohio, bi3, United Way and the US Health Resources and Services Administration have all joined forces to work with UC Health, Trihealth and Cradle Cincinnati Connections to dramatically scale a successful place-based intervention for preterm birth. Neighborhood-based teams are now working to transform what prenatal care and community support look like across 12 zip codes.
We collectively started a braver conversation about racism. Avant Consulting Group led equity training sessions to help address implicit bias at Cincinnati’s largest prenatal care sites. Cradle Cincinnati re-invented its annual report to more specifically address racism. As we work to reduce racial disparity in infant deaths, this work will continue to be central and will be spreading to new sites this fall.
Queens Village launched and is powering Cradle Cincinnati. Queens Village is a supportive community of powerful Black women who come together to relax, repower and take care of each other. The group is designed to help reduce stress in the community while providing an opportunity for partners to get real advice from the women most likely to be experiencing loss. More than 900 women engaged in this work this year.
Policies changed to make our community healthier. Cincinnati Public School enhanced its health curriculum, the City of Cincinnati passed Tobacco 21 legislation and the State of Ohio greatly expanded resources for home visitation and group prenatal care.
You can download a full overview of the year here.
This progress represents the collective labor of dozens of organizations and hundreds of individuals. Together, we can make our next year even stronger. Join us.