July 6, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded a $3.6-million, 5-year Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) grant to The Ohio State University
The grant will support interdisciplinary leadership training for health-related graduate and post-graduate students from more than 15 disciplines, with an emphasis on improving health systems, outcomes and access to quality care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder/developmental disabilities and their families.
"This is an important grant that will contribute to advancing both the university’s and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s priorities around interdisciplinary teaching and patient care," said Marc J. Tassé, director of the Nisonger Center.
Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Nisonger Center – which is part of The Ohio State University College of Medicine – partners with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to create an exceptional training opportunity for students interested in becoming leaders in neurodevelopmental disabilities.
The LEND program recruits graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and community leaders to participate in a yearlong interdisciplinary training curriculum focused on improving the health of children with developmental disabilities and their families. Faculty from Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s Hospital provide individualized mentoring to students through an integrated curriculum consisting of clinical training, didactic coursework and public health projects.
Through the grant, LEND programs help to reduce barriers to screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities and promote evidence-based interventions for these individuals.
The LEND project has several goals, including:
- Provide effective leadership training.
- Develop health professionals with advanced clinical skills.
- Teach health-related professionals to provide culturally and linguistically competent health care services to underserved populations.
- Prepare health-related professionals to address health promotion and health equity for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
For more than 50 years, Nisonger Center has focused on developing a highly skilled workforce that can generate, translate and integrate new knowledge in the maternal and child health field.
“Despite improvements in some areas of care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder/developmental disabilities, there remains a significant unmet need for evidence based, equitable and
coordinated systems of care for these individuals with and their families,” said Paula Rabidoux, LEND Director at the Nisonger Center.
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Media Contact: Eileen Scahill, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, 614-293-3737, Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu