AKRON, Ohio – Greater Akron’s campaign against infant mortality, Full Term First Birthday, has released its three-year plan focusing on the social influences on health and the uncoordinated agendas of health-related agencies and community organizations.

The plan was unveiled Tuesday at Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan’s third annual Health Equity Summit at the John S. Knight Center.

“I created Full Term First First Birthday (FTFB) in 2017 to address the unacceptably high rate of infant mortality in Akron and the significant disparity in birth outcomes between white and African-American infants,” Horrigan said in a statement.

Akron’s infant mortality rate has decreased by nearly nine percent since 2016, from 7.55 to 6.90 per 1,000 live births, Horrigan reported, adding that “significant work remains and unacceptable racial disparities persist.”

FTFB’s five strategic goals for 2019-21, available in full here, are:

Provide services that reduce the rate of premature births to the national average by 2025 and eliminate sleep-related deaths.

Engage, educate and equip the community to support healthy full-term pregnancies and safe sleep for babies.

Use qualitative and quantitative data to influence policies and practices that will improve birth outcomes.

Address the roles that structural racism, implicit bias and cultural responsiveness play in infant mortality.

Assess and build the collective impact of Full Term First Birthday Greater Akron.

The plan’s effectiveness will be measured by the infant mortality rate in the Akron area, the annual number of infant sleep-related deaths and the number and cause of premature births.

Tamiyka Rose, Akron’s first health equity ambassador, leads and coordinates the collaborative which coordinates efforts across 19 agencies in Akron and surrounding communities to promote healthy full-term pregnancies and safe sleep for babies.

“To truly be effective, services for expectant mothers must be culturally responsive, family-centric, evidence-based and available in close proximity to family and neighborhood support systems,” Rose said in a statement. “Further, by addressing structural racism and implicit bias – both within health-care and the broader community – we can begin to close the gap in outcomes between our white and African-American infants.”

The organizations that participate in the FTFB campaign include: Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron Community Development Association, Akron Urban League, AxcessPointe Community Health Center, Inc., Birthing Beautiful Communities, Charisma Community Collection, City of Akron, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Community Action Akron Summit, Greenleaf Family Center, Metro Regional Transit Authority, Mount Cavalry Baptist Church of Akron, NAACP, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Project Ujima, Summa Health System, Summit County Public Health, The House of the Lord, United Way of Summit County and the University of Akron.

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