Atrium Medical Center Introduces New Program in Effort to Lower Infant Mortality Rates

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (Aug. 4, 2017): Atrium Medical Center is launching a new way to care for the highest risk pregnant women in the Middletown community. The program, called CenteringPregnancy®, is a partnership between Atrium, the Butler County Partnership to Reduce Infant Mortality (PRIM), and the Ohio Department of Medicaid. 

CenteringPregnancy® brings 8 to 10 pregnant women who are due around the same time together for prenatal care. Each of the 10 visits is 90 minutes to two hours long—giving women 10 times as much time with their provider team. Patients meet in a comfortable group setting outside the exam room and, as part of an ongoing group, patients form a supportive community where they develop skills and confidence to take control of their health. The Centering group healthcare models combine health assessment, interactive learning and community building to deliver better health outcomes and a better care experience for patients and their providers.

The new CenteringPregnancy® service can lead to healthier babies, and is meant to combat the high infant mortality rates, premature births and low birth weights affecting many newborns in the Middletown community.

“With the launch of CenteringPregnancy®, Atrium Medical Center is expanding its services to meet the variety of needs of expecting mothers in Butler County. Atrium offers comprehensive maternity services including group meetings for women before they deliver, birth and family education, and natural birth services at Greater Cincinnati’s only natural birth center,” said Dr. Rhonda Washington, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Atrium Medical Center and medical director of CenteringPregnancy® at Atrium.

Centering meetings will be held Wednesdays beginning September 13 at the Maternal Child Health Center, located on the Atrium Medical Center campus at 100 Campus Loop Rd., Middletown, OH 45005. Free transportation and childcare will be provided. Expecting mothers who are interested in enrolling can contact Maternal Child Health Center at (513) 974-5235. Eligibility requirements to join CenteringPregnancy® at Atrium include expecting mothers who are Butler County residents and have a Medicaid health plan.

Priority for enrollment will be given to African American women as they suffer the highest rates of infant deaths before their baby’s first birthday, according to Ohio Department of Health. Statewide in 2015, the Infant Mortality Rate was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for all races and 15.1 deaths per 1,000 live births for African American infants, according to the state health department’s most recent data.

“We are thrilled to have Atrium on board with the Butler County Partnership to Reduce Infant Mortality as we work to help more babies reach their first birthdays. Infants are dying in our county at rates higher than other counties around the state and the nation. Our African American babies are being hit especially hard by low birth weights and prematurity, which puts them at high risk of dying before they are even one-year-old,” said Jenny Bailer, Butler County health commissioner. “We are so appreciative of this partnership between PRIM and Atrium. Our highest risk women and babies will be the big winners when this program is up and running.”

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