The Lucas County Initiative to Improve Birth Outcomes is a community partnership with the common goal to improve birth outcomes by increasing prenatal care for at risk women. The Initiative ultimately aims to reduce the incidence of low birth weight babies in targeted high-risk areas in Toledo, Ohio. Those at risk are identified, connected to care, and the outcomes are measured.

Five agencies are currently participating in enrolling high risk pregnant women in this pilot program. The participating agencies are as follows: Mercy, Neighborhood Health Association, Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, The Toledo Hospital and East Toledo Family Center.

The Lucas County Initiative to Improve Birth Outcomes has received recognition for its innovative collaborative strategies to address health disparities in birth outcomes. The Initiative is a founding member of the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Community Care Coordination Learning Network Core Team and is highlighted in a community HUB manual released by AHRQ fall 2010. In addition, the Initiative has been featured on local television and chronicled through The Blade. The Initiative was also one of the sixteen programs selected out of a pool of 160 to present at the National Catholic Health Association conference that was held in June 2010 and was also featured in their print publication.

For more information, contact Jan Ruma, Maggie Wielinski, or Carly Miller at 419-842-0800.

Current Funders

• The Toledo Community Foundation
• March of Dimes
• The Lucas County Healthy Communities Foundation
• Ohio Medicaid Managed Care Organizations

Partners

• Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio
• Lucas County Department of Jobs and Family Services
• Lucas County Family Council
• March of Dimes
• Mercy
• Mercy College of Northwest Ohio
• Mercy St Vincent Children’s Hospital
• Mercy St Vincent Medical Center
• Mercy St Vincent Medical Center- Hope for Families
• Neighborhood Health Association
• Ohio Commission of Minority Health  
• Ohio Department of Health
• Polly Fox Academy
• Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio
• ProMedica
• Regional Perinatal Center
• The Toledo Hospital
• Toledo Children’s Hospital
• Richland County Community Health Access Program
• Toledo Community Foundation
• Toledo-Lucas County Health Department
• University of Toledo College of Medicine
• Department of Pediatrics
• Regional Genetics Center
• Adelante – The Latino Resource Center
• The Stranahan Foundation