2 minute read
Population Health
Nationwide Children’s Hospital understands that one of the most important factors in someone’s health is one that you might not realize: your zip code.
Where you live and grow up affects many of what are known as the social determinants of health. To help address these issues, Nationwide Children’s is helping children where they are: at home, at school, and in their neighborhood. To date, Nationwide Children’s has invested more in this type of programming than any other pediatric healthcare system. We’re extending our nationally recognized Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families (HNHF) program to the Linden neighborhood, working to replicate the successes we’ve had on the South Side. HNHF has already built or improved more than 500 properties in communities around the hospital, and has begun to make similar inroads into Linden. Understanding the importance of data to help drive smart decision-making, we’ve created the Center for Child Health Equity and Outcomes Research, lead by Dr. Deena Chisolm, to help us understand our progress and drive better outcomes for our families. Through a number of programs, Nationwide Children’s school based health services seek to take advantage of a child’s school attendance to make sure they’re getting the health care they require. We realize that, for one reason or another, many children don’t make it to all of their recommended check-ups. By working with school systems, we can ensure that fewer kids fall through the cracks and get the care they need. For instance, our Diabetes and School Health (DASH) program sees diabetic children at their school, helping them measure their glucose levels, and providing them with the medication and support they need. Our new strategic plan also calls for Nationwide Children’s to further invest in Partners For Kids (PFK), our impactful accountable care organization. Alongside its partners, PFK supports the highest quality care for almost all children served by Medicaid in more than half of Ohio counties, while also sharing best practices with pediatric providers across the state. We will also continue to support and grow our Pediatric Vital Signs program, an initiative to measure the wellbeing of all children in its community across eight metrics, with the goal of determining what is working and expanding the initiative as a national model for pediatric care.
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