Nationwide Childrens Hospital Neonatologist Receives March of Dimes Funding to Expand Education Program for Pregnant Women

March 14, 2012

 

Carl Backes, Jr., MD, a neonatologist and current cardiology fellow at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, has been awarded $35,000 from the March of Dimes Ohio Chapter for his project to expand an outpatient methadone education program.
 
The project involves working to increase health education and information available to pregnant women who use alcohol or other drugs and are being treated with methadone. Dr. Backes and his team will investigate whether their recent efforts have improved retention rates and strengthened the relationships between these at-risk women and their health care providers.
 
“We’re very grateful for the support we’ve received from the March of Dimes to expand this education program,” said Dr. Backes. “We believe our efforts to increase maternal compliance with methadone maintenance during pregnancy will lead to improved maternal and infant outcomes. This funding will help us ensure that our multidisciplinary educational program continues for this vulnerable mother-infant dyad.”
 
Dr. Backes is also a graduate of the Neonatology fellowship program at Nationwide Children’s and is currently in his first year of cardiology fellowship training. He is board certified in Pediatrics.
 
NOTE TO EDITOR: Dr. Backes is a resident of Columbus, 43221.

About Nationwide Children's Hospital

Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-25 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 16,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.8 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.