Speaking at HPIO forum, former Ohio legislators urge continued focus on reducing infant mortality

Speaking last week at an online forum hosted by HPIO, two former legislators who worked to bring the problem of Ohio’s high infant mortality rate to the forefront urged the state to do more (Source: “Former legislators join call to action on infant mortality in Ohio,” Ohio Capital Journal, Aug. 21).
 
Former Democratic state senator Charleta Tavares and former Republican senator Shannon Jones were a bipartisan duo who spent 2017 getting Senate Bill 332 through the General Assembly. The bill directed the Legislative Service Commission to work with the Health Policy Institute of Ohio on a new approach to addressing infant mortality.
 
“If we don’t do something as a state, we’re never going to see the changes for infants and moms, but also for the state of Ohio,” Tavares said of her motivation for prioritizing the issue.
 
Getting the public, along with policymakers and providers, to connect the health issues with outside impacts such as housing, transportation, and the systemic racism that still exists within state institutions, is important in driving home the need for policy changes, according to Jones and Tavares.
 
“There is not a Staples ‘easy’ button when it comes to advocacy, I think you just have to be relentless,” Jones said. “…This has been 10 years since I’ve been talking about it and I’m way late to the party, so I don’t know what it’s going to take.”
 
For those who were unable to attend the event, a recording of the forum can be found on HPIO’s website.