Collaborating and Innovating to Improve Maternal Health

For decades, the US has had one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world.

Now, thanks to the State Maternal Health Innovation Program, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, nine statesArizona, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahomaare working together to do something about it, the New York Times reports.

The goal is to "systematically improve maternal health and equity in outcomes," according to a Health Resources and Services Administration press release.

"The present focus on addressing maternal morbidity and mortality is long overdue," the Times quotes the release as saying.

"Rates of maternal death in the United States have been documented since the 1900s, yet the number and rate of deaths continue to escalate alongside widening disparities."

The MHI program aims to do just that by using public health approaches, direct service delivery, and maternal health data to support the implementation of innovative maternal health strategies and reduce inequities.

Among the tips the nine awardees share in the press release: Include nontraditional partners, such as women's shelters, public safety organizations, refugee and immigration service providers, state hospital associations, payers, assistance agencies, and charitable donor organizations.

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