In an average week, 2,896 babies are born in Ohio.  385 of these babies are born prematurely.  253 weigh less than three and 1/3 pounds.  23 babies will die before they reach their first birthday.  Sadly, the rate of preterm birth in Ohio has increased 21 percent over the last decade.  Other birth outcomes are not so good either.  In 2008, the March of Dimes issued the first state-by-state Premature Birth Report Card.  Ohio got a “D” for a prematurity rate of 13 percent.  In 2009, Ohio’s prematurity rate increased to 13.2%, and the March of Dimes issued Ohio an “F”.  How can we turn that failing grade around and improve our birth outcomes? Listen in to part one of this special two-part edition of Children’s on Quality as I interview some of the leaders of the Ohio Better Birth Outcomes project.

View March of Dimes Perinatal Statistics »
View the 2009 Ohio Better Birth Outcomes (OBBO) Annual Report »

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In the fall of 2008, Nationwide Children’s Hospital broke ground on a new 12-floor main hospital that is scheduled for completion in 2012. This new tower will be 750,000 square feet and will be surrounded by six acres of green space featuring parks and healing garden spaces for patients and families. The new building will open with more than 450 patient rooms that are 40 percent bigger and an emergency/trauma center that is twice as big as the current facility. It will also have a new pediatric intensive care, cardiac intensive care and transplant unit. Learn about the new patient care tower on this edition of Children’s on Quality.

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Healthy employees are happy employees, and happy employees make better healthcare workers. That is one goal for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Employee Wellness Program. More than one-third of large employers in the U.S. have such wellness programs. They are designed to give employees “the information, tools and support they need to take charge of their health.” Advocates of the employee wellness programs claim that they reduce absenteeism, lower employer healthcare costs, and increase productivity. Tune in to the Children’s on Quality and learn about Nationwide Children’s Hospital Employee Wellness program. Listen to how this program has impacted the life of one of our employees.

Podcast: Download (17.9MB)