Guest column: Dr. Jennifer L. Howse

The March of Dimes Foundation has a long and proud history stretching over 70 years - we work hard to prevent childhood health problems and work even harder to save the smallest and sickest of newborns and children.

In the 1940s, the notion of a public health organization funded and run by volunteers was a new and unproven concept. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our founder, mobilized a grassroots army of volunteers to help neighbors and friends - and people they didn't even know. Across the spectrum, volunteers came out and served, even risking their own exposure to polio, the disease they set out to conquer. And they raised money-millions of dollars-despite it being during the Depression and World War II.

The defeat of polio shows how an entire nation came together and changed the future, especially for children. Today, more than ever, our country needs this collective power of volunteers to affect change.

That's why the March of Dimes has joined with AARP, the Business Roundtable, the Service Employees International Union and the National Federation of Independent Business and scores of other organizations because only by harnessing the power of individuals, and families in communities across America will we ever be able to secure affordable, quality health care and long-term financial security for everyone.

Divided We Fail is our collective voice for each of our toughest issues. At the March of Dimes our current focus is on the prevention of preterm birth, the number one killer of newborns.

Today more than 1,400 babies across the U.S. will be born too soon. Many will be too small and too sick to go home; some will die. Those who survive are likely to have more behavior problems, health problems, and learning problems; one in four will have a permanent disability.

And the financial implications are staggering. Prematurity is costing our nation upwards of $26 billion a year - a significant share of the rising cost of health care for families, employers and other private insurers as well as for public programs like Medicaid and SCHIP.

Here is a complex issue, with no single-solution, that is taking a tremendous toll on our nation-and our families-economically, socially, and emotionally. And we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that access to coverage makes a difference.

It makes a difference when a woman can get the maternity care she needs to have a healthy pregnancy and a full term baby. It makes a difference when proven preventive care for the infant and toddler is readily available.

And it will make a difference when, as a nation, we ensure that everyone - young and old - has access to quality health care. That's why the March of Dimes has embraced the unifying message of Divided We Fail.

Everyone - individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and government - can play a role and has a responsibility to work toward achieving a healthier future for all our citizens, and especially for our youngest, most vulnerable members. By uniting together, we will succeed.

Learn more about the March of Dimes - and join us in speaking out to prevent preterm birth to give more babies the healthiest possible start in life.

Dr. Jennifer L. Howse is President of the March of Dimes.