Partners for Change

Funded by: Ohio Department of Children and Youth
Current Phase: Co-Design & Implementation
Timeline: Year 2 | July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027

Working Together to Improve Birth Outcomes

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a growing health concern in Cuyahoga County, where rates have increased more than 830% over the past 30 years. Partners for Change brings healthcare and community partners together to address this challenge and improve outcomes for Black mothers and babies.

Better Health Partnership facilitates a quality improvement learning collaborative with Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System, Neighborhood Family Practice, University Hospitals, and community-based providers. Together, partners are working to reduce medically indicated preterm births among Black women in Cuyahoga County by improving care and addressing key factors that contribute to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Better Health Partnership’s Role

As the backbone organization for the healthcare learning collaborative, Better Health Partnership helps partners use data, shared learning, quality improvement, and community perspectives to drive meaningful change.

Data & Measurement
We collect and aggregate electronic health record data across participating health systems to establish a shared baseline and improvement goal and track progress over time.

Program Management
We coordinate the collaborative and create shared learning opportunities that help clinical and community partners work toward a common goal.

Quality Improvement
We support clinical champions across four health systems as they test changes using rapid-cycle Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methods, learn what works, and identify promising practices that can be expanded.

Co-Design
We bring together people with lived experience, healthcare providers, and community organizations to develop ways to strengthen trust in healthcare among Black pregnant women in Cuyahoga County. This work builds on findings from focus groups conducted by our partner, Neighborhood Leadership Institute.

What We’re Working On

The collaborative is focusing on four key areas that can help improve care and birth outcomes:

• Early access to prenatal care, helping patients connect with care as early as possible during pregnancy.
• Remote blood pressure monitoring, supporting ongoing monitoring outside of traditional healthcare visits.
• Universal low-dose aspirin prescription and adherence, supporting an evidence-based approach for appropriate patients.
• Community health worker support, connecting patients with additional support and resources.
  
  

The Bigger Picture

Partners for Change is a statewide initiative of the Ohio Department of Children and Youth that expands a model pioneered by Cradle Cincinnati into Ohio communities with some of the state’s highest infant mortality rates.

In Cuyahoga County, First Year Cleveland leads the initiative using Cradle Cincinnati’s collective impact framework. The local effort combines real-time infant mortality data, the healthcare learning collaborative facilitated by Better Health Partnership, and community engagement through Neighborhood Leadership Institute’s Queen’s Village model, which centers the expertise and experiences of Black women.

Together, these efforts support an ambitious countywide goal: reducing Cuyahoga County’s infant mortality rate to 5.9 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births by December 2030.

Questions or Interested in Getting Involved?

To learn more about Partners for Change or opportunities to participate, contact PJ Kimmel at pxk500@case.edu.