Cradle Cincinnati Community Meeting Recap | August 2026
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our August Community Meeting. More than 60 partners came together to learn, connect and drive shared action.
Together, we learned how Ohio Medicaid value-added benefits address the social determinants of health and engaged in discussions surrounding a new approach to safe sleep messaging.
Read on to learn more about what was discussed and how you can get involved.
Save the date for our next quarterly meeting on Tuesday, November 17 at 10am. Registration will open in October on our website here.
Ohio Medicaid Value-Added Benefits: An Overview
When it comes to consistently practicing safe sleep, families told us they need more than information; they need support. And one place to find support? Through Ohio Medicaid.
At our Community Meeting, Dr. Krizia Melendez (Humana) and Andrea Price (Molina Healthcare) walked us through this very topic: the support available through Ohio Medicaid value-added benefits.
What are value-added benefits?
Value-added benefits are services provided by managed care organizations (MCOs) that are in addition to the required health services that all plans must offer. Think transportation assistance, baby items, and incentives for preventative screenings.
Some benefits are provided across the board, like transportation to prenatal and postpartum appointments, along with financial incentives for attending. And some benefits are specific to individual MCOs.
How can you help?
In their presentation, Krizia and Andrea made it clear: families trust you, and they listen to you. That’s why you play such an important role in helping families understand and navigate the benefits that best meet their needs.
The Value-Added Benefits Comparison Document is one tool to help you. This resource provides a side-by-side view of the benefits available by each MCO — and helps identify the best person for families to reach out to for additional support. Keep this document on hand for easy access.
If you’d like to learn more, see the full slide deck or contact:
Dr. Krizia Melendez, KMelendez9@humana.com
Andrea Price, Andrea.Price2@molinahealthcare.com
Coming Soon: Community Conversations on Safe Sleep
Does current safe sleep messaging meet the needs of our families?
That’s the question we're asking in light of the increase in sleep-related infant deaths in Hamilton County last year (see 2025 data here).
In order to answer this, Cradle Cincinnati is partnering with Dr. Emily Little, a developmental scientist with a background in maternal and infant health, to explore how we might evolve safe sleep messaging to better meet the real-world realities families face.
What this will look like: This fall, Dr. Little will host community co-design retreats, open to families, community leaders, clinicians and anyone passionate about supporting moms and families.
The goal: To develop messaging, practical resources, tools and a rollout plan that we can test and refine. By the end of this year, we want to have a community toolkit and implementation strategy that’s ready to launch in 2027.
We’ll share updates in our newsletter as we move through this process — subscribe here to stay in the loop.