Kasich administration to fund joint research by Ohio children's hospitals

The Kasich administration announced this week that six Ohio children’s hospitals will collaborate on research projects aimed at improving the health of Ohio children (Source: “Children’s hospitals to tackle research projects on low-weight babies,” Columbus Dispatch, March 27, 2012).

Gov. Kasich announced that a portion of the $2 million he had promised last year to children’s hospitals would go toward combating neonatal abstinence syndrome and some of the funds would go toward a project related to asthma, the No. 1 cause of hospitalization for children covered by Medicaid.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Cincinnati Children’s, Akron Children’s, ProMedica Toledo Children’s and Dayton Children’s and Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland are participating in the joint research ventures.The $2 million in research funds are part of $21 million the state was given through the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 and fit the adminstration’s goal of addressing “hotspots” in Medicaid coverage that lead to higher costs for the state.