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April 05, 2022 01:00 PM

Northwell launches center to combat Black maternal mortality

Crain's New York Business
Maya Kaufman
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    Northwell Health on Tuesday announced the launch of its Center for Maternal Health to address the disproportionate rate of pregnancy-related health risks and maternal mortality among Black women.

    Northwell's new center is not a physical facility but rather a suite of prenatal and postpartum programs throughout the city to support high-risk women in and out of the hospital and to train clinicians on best practices. Its initiatives will unite members of Northwell's obstetrics and gynecology department, population health division and the Katz Institute for Women's Health.

    To reach those most in need, the center will work with community-based organizations to connect women in medically underserved communities to Northwell services. It will use data-driven measures to proactively identify obstetric patients who face an increased risk of experiencing complications and connect them to an appropriate provider, instead of waiting for a referral. One example is an algorithm, which Northwell is developing with Aegis Ventures, that uses artificial intelligence to identify expectant mothers at greater risk of preeclampsia.

    Read more: Northwell and startup studio Aegis form AI investment venture

    Far reaching impact

    The center will even extend outside Northwell's doors. Its Maternal Outcomes Navigation program, which began as a 20-month pilot, will provide support to high-risk women between prenatal appointments and postpartum.

    Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling said the system was willing to pay whatever price necessary to achieve its long-term goal of reducing Black maternal mortality rates. Black women in New York are three to 12 times more likely to die of childbirth-related causes than white women, according to city data. He said the team was in the process of defining the center's short-term metrics of success.

    Of the 30,500 patients who deliver at a Northwell facility in a year, Dowling said an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 need a higher level of care because of their risk profile.

    "We'll do whatever it takes," he said. "I'm not putting a specific budget out there. I'm saying, 'This is a major focus.'"

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    Northwell operates 22 hospitals and 830 outpatient facilities and boasts more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. It reported a $103 million surplus on $10.7 billion in operating revenue during the first nine months of 2021, according to its most recently reported financial results.

    Northwell's center is one of several new hospital-based initiatives to address maternal health. St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens, last week announced the launch of its women's health center, which will provide such services as OB-GYN care and maternal-fetal medicine. The hospital funded its construction with a $3.1 million state grant.

    "The need for the Margaret O. Carpenter Women's Health Center is evident in the fact that the Rockaways sees a higher rate of pregnant women who seek late or no prenatal care when compared to the overall New York City rate," CEO Jerry Walsh said.

    Dr. Kulleni Gebreyes, U.S. chief health equity officer and consulting healthcare sector leader for Deloitte, applauded the new programs but said that hospitals and health systems need to involve the women they intend to serve in their planning and decision-making processes. Otherwise, she said, programs could fall victim to leadership's blind spots.

    "Despite all these good intentions, a lot of these programs still don't achieve the aspirational goals and aims they set for themselves," Gebreyes said. "If we executives decide what problems we're solving for and how we're solving for it without bringing in the voice of our customer, we've already failed to address probably the most crucial things to them."

    Related Article
    Mount Sinai opens clinic to support pregnant women, prevent stillbirth

    The cost of care

    Gebreyes said executives need to consider such issues as availability of public transportation, the cost of parking, hours of operation and the cultural competence of their providers, from the language they speak to the way they greet patients.

    Programs have to be affordable to achieve their goals, Gebreyes said.

    A report released Tuesday by the Commonwealth Fund ties the United States' poor maternal outcomes to high medical costs. Nearly half of U.S. women of reproductive age have skipped or delayed needed medical care because of the cost, more than in any other high-income country, the report found. More than half said they had at least one problem paying a medical bill in the past year. The Upper East Side-based foundation's analysis, which draws from a 2020 survey, looked at women ages 18 to 49 living in 11 high-income countries.

    Dowling acknowledged that patients might not know about Northwell's financial assistance programs and policies, which are applicable to patients whose family income is at or below 500% of the federal poverty line. The CEO said the system would work with community-based organizations and faith leaders to promote more awareness.

    "It will not become an obstacle for the receipt of services," he said.

    This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's New York Business.

    Related Articles
    What New York women's health startups are doing to improve Black maternal morbidity
    Racial disparities in maternal health have widened since the 1980s, federal report says
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