Working With Faith-Based Leaders to Promote Child Health
Many faith-based leaders spend their lives supporting children and families, offering comfort when people are stressed and scared, and cheering them on in achieving their goals.
To a children’s hospital, that mission sounds familiar. Which is why Nationwide Children’s has spent years partnering with faith-based organizations in central Ohio – and why its annual Community Voices: Faith and Community Leaders Luncheon has become such an inspiring avenue for partnership.
“We have the same goals you do,” said Patty McClimon, Nationwide Children’s senior vice president and chief strategy officer, in opening the luncheon. “We want people to be healthy and safe. The strategic plan that governs everything at this hospital is called ‘Leading the Journey to Best Outcomes.’”
“For generations, you and the caring traditions you represent have been leading the journey to best outcomes as well,” she said.
At its core, the luncheon allows Nationwide Children’s to build relationships with some of the most trusted members of the community, said Ray Bignall, MD, the hospital’s chief equity and inclusion officer and the luncheon’s master of ceremonies, by introducing some of the hospital’s most important community-building programs.
Among the Nationwide Children’s people and programs featured at the luncheon:
- Megan Rosenfeld, JD, project manager for Social Justice Initiatives, who spoke about the hospital’s work to improve care for incarcerated youth and children of incarcerated parents.
- Glenn Thomas, PhD, director of Behavioral Health Services, who spoke about community-wide interventions to reduce suicidality and serve youth with mental health concerns.
- Tifini Ray, MPH, manager of engagement and evaluation for School Health, who spoke about Nationwide Children’s school-based health centers and other school system outreach.
- Fareeda Haamid, DO, an Adolescent Medicine pediatrician, who spoke about teenage health challenges, including transitioning from pediatric to adult care
- Gretchen West, MCRP, executive director of Healthy Homes, who spoke about Nationwide Children’s commitment to affordable housing and community enrichment
These and other programs are exactly why it’s important for faith leaders to partner with Nationwide Children’s, said Dr. Keith A. Troy, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus. His neighborhood wasn’t always so sure how to work with the hospital.
“We wanted to know, how do you care for us, if we don’t actually come to you for care?” Dr. Troy said. “But our partnership has exceeded what we expected.”
Published October 2024
