News You Can Use
(From the July 2024 issue of MedStat)
Beth Kozel, MD, PhD, Named Division Chief of Genetic and Genomic Medicine and Director of Constitutional Genomics Translational Research
Beth Kozel, MD, PhD, has joined Nationwide Children’s as the division chief of Genetic and Genomic Medicine and director of Constitutional Genomics Translational Research in the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine. She is also a principal investigator in the Institute for Genomic Medicine.
Dr. Kozel is a clinical geneticist with extensive experience in genetics, vascular and matrix biology, with recent research efforts focusing on designing methods for genetic modifier discovery in rare disease cohorts, specifically Williams Syndrome and Isolated Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis. She previously directed the multidisciplinary Williams Syndrome Center at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She has served on governing bodies and promoted equity in science throughout her career. Dr. Kozel was co-awarded the 2023 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Award as a member of the Vascular Diagnostics Center team for establishment of the first of its kind center at the NIH.
Dr. Kozel has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and is active in multiple research and clinical societies. She is engaged in local, national and international research and patient-focused advocacy. To date, she has mentored more than 30 undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, medical students and post-doctoral fellows in various capacities.
Nationwide Children’s once again has been named one of “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” in 2024 by Forbes. Nationwide Children’s ranked second among all hospitals in Ohio and in the top five among children’s hospitals nationally, ranked 76th overall among all employers in the nation, and eighth nationally in the health care and social services category.
This honor comes on the heels of Nationwide Children’s recently being recognized on Forbes' 2024 'America’s Best Large Employers' list.'
Close To HomeSM Will Expand to Grove City
We are pleased to announce an expansion of our Close To Home network with a new site planned in early 2026 in Grove City on Stringtown Road. The Grove City Close To Home with Urgent Care will offer clinical therapies, lab services, imaging, EKGs and an urgent care.
By growing the network of Close To Home Centers, Nationwide Children’s is making important pediatric care convenient and accessible to families in Grove City and southwestern Columbus.
Nationwide Children’s Receives HRSA Grant, Strives to Improve Maternal and Infant Health in Southeast Ohio
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded Nationwide Children’s a $4.7 million grant for the implementation of the Healthy Start Initiative, striving to improve the health of moms and babies in three Appalachian Ohio counties.
The hospital’s award is the only Ohio Healthy Start award exclusively serving rural Appalachian families. In this area of the state, infant mortality rates are higher than statewide and national averages, according to the Ohio Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Barriers that contribute to infant health disparities in these counties include economic well-being, housing affordability, access to childcare and rural landscape challenges such as broadband access and transportation.
In collaboration with community partners in Ross, Pike and Scioto counties, and in alignment with priorities outlined by the Ohio Department of Youth, four key strategies will be implemented through the Healthy Start funding:
- Embedding community health workers into prenatal and pediatric settings to help families access evidence-based programs and address needs related to social determinants of health, such as food security and stable housing.
- Building and expanding support around health education, legal services, home visitation, behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment.
- Establishing a community consortium composed of local health care, public health and social service partners to coordinate clinical care and social support services, share health outcome data and promote health education.
- Growing a sustainable voice of local community members to co-lead the community consortium to help ensure Healthy Start implementation reflects community needs.