Columbus Dispatch...
Kid-centered research
Ohio’s six children’s hospitals will make a powerful team
Monday April 2, 2012 

Ohio is home to a number of outstanding children’s hospitals, which in total generated more money for research last year — nearly a quarter-billion dollars — than those in any other state. 

Now, they’re poised to take an even stronger leadership position in coming years, thanks to a forward-looking gift from Ohio taxpayers. 

In announcing a $2 million gift to six Ohio children’s hospitals, including Nationwide Children’s in Columbus, Gov. John Kasich has established the groundwork for a partnership that could help all of these institutions become even more successful and effective. 

The two focus areas for the initial $2 million state grant are critical issues in Ohio and the U.S.: childhood asthma and neonatal abstinence syndrome, aka drug-addicted babies.

The latter project, which will be led by Rainbow Babies & Children’s in Cleveland, also will aid in the governor’s fight against problems associated with babies being born underweight. 

“No other state is doing this,” said Dr. John Barnard, president of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s. “Quite simply, no other state has the collective intellectual assets and talent that we have to get this done.” 

Barnard said networks of physicians and hospitals working together “are the future of patient-oriented research,” since they will allow institutions to work faster and to access broader, more diverse patient groups. 

Empowering the state’s children’s hospitals is good for all Ohio residents who benefit from having world-class medical institutions in their communities as caregivers, job creators and good corporate citizens. This type of approach also can help spur more economic development by raising the state’s profile and by encouraging clusters of medical-related businesses to co-locate as they have in Cleveland. 

Kasich stressed that the $2 million is “not enough,” but said it’s “a good start.” This could even provide a model for other states, though Ohio sets a high standard among all 50 states with its excellence in children’s hospitals. 

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