Ohio community pathway HUB: The cost benefit of supporting minority
mothers

Pathways HUB Community Action began its HUB journey April 11, 2016 after receiving funding from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health. Twelve MOU partners joined Community Action in the Pathways HUB Replication Grant and had aligned with the understanding that the HUB provided an approach to eliminate health disparities and impact the deplorable infant mortality rates among Black and African- American families in Summit County. Since that time, Community Action has partnered with 18 care coordination agencies that employ Community Health Workers and have served over 2400 pregnant moms. In November 2023, CA published its first peer reviewed article in partnership with an economist and project evaluator demonstrating that the Hub produced a 440% return on investment. In other words, for every $1 invested in this project, $4.40 is saved in return. The analysis included 374 births (between 2016-2019). Average costs were calculated using data from 2 Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and March of Dimes state-level preterm birth costs. After accounting for inflation and other factors, the net benefit cost savings over the 4 years was $2,369,426 for the county. This research contributes to the body of literature supporting the role of Community Health Workers in addressing birth outcomes as well as the Pathways Community HUB model. CA is nationally certified by the Pathways Community HUB Institute and was the first Community Action Agency in the country to adopt this model.