While Juneteenth has been recognized over the last two centuries as Black Independence Day—a celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans—it also serves as a cruel reminder of how long our country has to go before overcoming entrenched systemic racism. It is widely accepted that the first kidnapped Africans to reach European colonies in...
The United States is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth. This is a frightening sentence to write as a pregnant woman. Impending childbirth and parenthood are anxiety-inducing enough (even though I’ve been through it all before), but the work that my colleagues and I have been doing over the...
By: Hope A. Lane-Gavin, Fellow, Health Equity, The Center for Community Solutions Katherine Ungar, Policy Associate, Children’s Defense Fund – Ohio In our first blog of this series highlighting our research into the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and how it operates in Ohio, we outlined many of the program’s...
Ohio’s 2022-23 state budget that was signed into law in June 2021 included a provision that would provide Medicaid coverage for birthing people up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level for a full year after giving birth. The current policy is to provide Medicaid coverage for 60 days postpartum for this group. This policy change will go a long way toward improving access...
By: Hope Lane, Public Policy & External Affairs Associate Natasha Takyi-Micah, Public Policy & External Affairs Associate Maternal and infant health have continued to be at the top of national and state discourse as governments pursue policy solutions to help combat the ongoing and intensifying crisis. While we are hopeful that strides will be made in...
Natasha Takyi-Micah has been accepted into the in Families USA’s 2021 Health Equity Academy, where she will be focusing on maternal and child health issues. The second annual National Maternal Health Innovation Symposium was hosted by the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center (MHLIC) August 30-31, 2021. This free symposium focused on understanding maternal health disparities,...
By: Nazleen Bharmal, MD, PhD, MPP Dear Mayor, Protecting infants and mothers from tragic and unnecessary deaths is a pressing issue. Infant and maternal mortality are critical indicators of the physical and financial health of a community. In Cleveland, we have made strides to achieve a 37 percent reduction in the overall number of infant deaths...
By: Hope Lane, Public Policy & External Affairs Associate and Tara Britton, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy and Edward D. and Dorothy E. Lynde Fellow For the past several years, The Center for Community Solutions has insisted that tracking and releasing maternal morbidity data is key to improving health outcomes for both new mothers and infants. As we have...
At the beginning of 2021, when The Center for Community Solutions shared its state budget priorities, I don’t think we expected such a wild ride to reach the conclusion of the budget process. The versions of the budget presented by Governor Mike DeWine and those passed by the House and Senate certainly advanced some issues...
