Gov. Mike DeWine and the director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) said Tuesday morning the agency has a new tool for families of pediatric cancer patients: the Pediatric Complex Care Navigation Program.
By extending its existing Complex Medical Help Program, ODH will add new staff to connect families with resources regarding doctors, trials, insurance and more.
20-year-old Jayden Zurlinden of West Chester died of osteosarcoma in June. The wrestler and musician had survived another form of cancer at just 18 months old.
His mother Cassie Zurlinden said Jayden’s final weeks alive, for her, were a blur of researching clinical trials and medical studies as well as contacting hospitals and insurance companies.
“A navigator can make sure a terrified person isn’t standing alone, trying to figure out where to turn to next,” Zurlinden said. “They can give mom and dad something incredibly precious back—time. Time to sit with their child. Time to hold their hand. Time to say I love you.”
The Zurlindens connected with the DeWine administration in the weeks before Jayden’s death, she said, as they sought out treatment for him in California. He never made it out there.
“Our son wanted to live, and he deserved to live, and 20 years was nowhere enough,” Zurlinden said.
ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff said the agency is using federal grant money to fund the extension of the Complex Medical Help Program.
“Obviously, as the program evolves and develops, we’ll have to cross the bridge of further funding, depending on how that goes,” Vanderhoff told reporters.
But when DeWine leaves office in January and his agency heads do too, whoever succeeds him as governor will need to decide whether to maintain the program.
DeWine also urged the legislature Tuesday to consider further increasing funding for children’s cancer research grants in its next budget. The 2026-2027 biennial state budget allocated $5 million toward them, which was half of what DeWine requested.
More information about the Pediatric Complex Care Navigation Program is available here.
