Q&A
Addressing racial disparities in maternal mortality
0:42:53
ยท
155 sec
Council Member Schulman inquires about DOHMH's concrete actions to address persistent racial disparities in maternal mortality. Dr. Morse outlines the department's strategies and initiatives to tackle this critical issue.
- Specific focus on Black women and pregnant people in Healthy NYC's maternal health goal
- Continuation of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee's work to analyze every maternal death
- Implementation of over 25 recommendations across various sectors to protect pregnant people's lives
- Development of a maternal home collaborative model to decrease silos between community, healthcare, and other organizations
Lynn Schulman
0:42:53
And I did see that the office of the chief medical examiner was at the symposium and I presume you guys, work with them as well because that's very important.
0:43:02
I know that their data and what they see is part of the mix here.
0:43:07
That's correct.
0:43:08
DOHMH has acknowledged the persistent and unacceptable racial disparities in maternal mortality which is a big issue for the council.
0:43:17
Can you elaborate on the concrete actions DOHMH is taking or will take to ensure that the strategies employed to reduce maternal mortality are culturally competent and responsive to the specific needs and concerns of the communities most impacted by these disparities?
0:43:31
Bless you.
Michelle Morse
0:43:32
Absolutely.
0:43:33
This is a huge priority for us.
0:43:36
Of all the 7, drivers listed for, the reduced life expectancy, and for our goal of getting it to 83 years by 2030, you'll note that black, women and pregnant people are specifically named in our maternal health goal for Healthy NYC, and that is in large part, again, because of the persistent racial inequities in the rates of maternal mortality for black New Yorkers.
0:44:01
One of the things that we're doing, of course, is continuing the work of our maternal mortality review committee.
0:44:07
That committee brings together experts from all over New York City who rigorously and extensively review every single maternal death and evaluate the contributors and the causes of that maternal death.
0:44:19
They also designate whether or not that death is considered to be preventable.
0:44:24
And almost 3 of 4 deaths are considered preventable, particularly for black New Yorkers.
0:44:30
So we do have work to do.
0:44:31
The MMRC's report, that was released this September lists out over 25 recommendations across really most sectors.
0:44:41
So health care, policy makers, community based organizations, health departments, and many other stakeholders, there are recommendations for each of those groups on how they can contribute towards protecting the lives of, pregnant people and reducing the rates of mortality.
0:44:59
And then the other work that we're doing is on a maternal home collaborative model that seeks to decrease the silos between, community, health care, and other organizations to really, again, protect the lives of pregnant people and to fund and resource the interventions that we know are evidence based and save lives of women.
0:45:20
So, those efforts are ongoing, and we'd be happy to follow-up with counsel, to discuss some of those recommendations in detail.
Lynn Schulman
0:45:28
No.