Whether it’s Facetime, dance parties or Zoom family dinners, we are still gathering this holiday season, we are simply doing it safely. This holiday season, we’re giving up a little to gain a lot.  Think big, plan small, save lives Columbus.

When Mayor Andrew Ginther and First Lady Shannon Ginther launched the Columbus Women’s Commission in January of 2017, they and the Women’s Commission knew then how vital this work was to our community.  Women, women of color and their families endure an enormous range of disparity spanning health, wealth and safety.  COVID-19 and racism ripped bandages from these wounds that have never had a chance to heal and make the work of the Columbus Women’s Commission more urgent than ever before.

As one of the inaugural members of the Columbus Women’s Commission, I remember how daunting the work was that lay ahead of us.  The speed at which the four years have since elapsed bringing my final term to an end shocks me.  It feels like an unwelcome interruption of all the work that still must get accomplished to address all the disparity that exists in our community.  So many individuals and families are hanging on by a thread and desperately need a lifeline.  Hearing their stories and seeing the data rock me to the core but make my priorities in life crystal clear.  People first. Compassion. Empathy. Action.

One cannot be ingrained in this work and make progress without being willing to be vulnerable and willing to see the world through a different set of lenses.  I am so grateful for each of our commission members for letting me see this community through their eyes and for the leadership of First Lady Ginther and Executive Director Shelly Beiting for bringing the voices of those we serve into this work.  Shelly has been amazing with the passion she brings to her role and her ability to reconcile a myriad of viewpoints into a cohesive approach to address community needs.  It is this diverse set of collective perspectives that create the power for change and the forward movement.

I have always believed that it is more important to embrace being able to play a small role in something big, rather than a big role in something small and that you have to be willing to do the work. The value of sweat equity in moving the ball forward cannot be underestimated because you get out of something what you put into it.   I hope that in some small way, I have made an impact. I cannot believe how quickly 4 years have gone by.  I am going to miss being part of the journey in the capacity of a commissioner, but I know that I am going to be on the road with this group always.  Never let being or not being part of a group deter you from finding a way to contribute.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Onward!

Barb Smoot

2020 is a banner year for CelebrateOne, marking five years of collaborative work in the greater Columbus community.

This week, the City of Columbus CelebrateOne team celebrated this milestone with a virtual event that showcased the successes and highlighted the leaders, community partners, moms and teams engaged in helping babies thrive. It was followed by a press conference announcing the next phase of strategic planning to eliminate infant mortality.

In 2014, the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force released a report to the residents of Franklin County on the impact of infant mortality in our community. The report focused on eight recommendations to reduce the community’s staggering infant mortality rate by 40 percent and cut the racial health disparity gap in half by 2020. CelebrateOne, a coalition of committed community partners, was launched that November to carry out the Task Force’s recommendations and ensure Franklin County meets its ambitious goals.

“We successfully moved the needle from 8.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 6.9 deaths per 1000 in 2019. The next phase of our strategy will work toward the Healthy People 2030 goal of 5.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births,” said Maureen Stapleton, Executive Director of CelebrateOne. “It is progress, but we still have work ahead of us. We will not eradicate infant mortality unless we bring everyone with us.”
In 2019, Franklin County experienced one of the lowest number of sleep-related deaths in recent years at 15, an indication these efforts have an impact. Last year, CelebrateOne distributed 1,413 portable safe sleep cribs, educated over 900 Safe Sleep Ambassadors and implemented an impactful social and digital awareness campaign across Franklin County.

As CelebrateOne looks ahead, a critical area where our community needs progress is continuing to address the racial disparity in the infant mortality rate. The racial disparity ratio for our community still shows Non-Hispanic Black babies are passing away at more than two and a half times the rate of Non-Hispanic White babies.
This next phase will be laser-focused on addressing racism as a health crisis and its impact on birth outcomes.

For more information, visit: Columbus.gov/celebrate-one/