Changing the Narrative: Ways to Improve Maternal Outcomes in High Risk Populations

April 11-17 is Black Maternal Health Week and despite groundbreaking evidence and media attention for several years, little has changed in the maternal mortality narrative. Due to the lack of progress from our nation’s hospitals and health systems, many quality organizations have not intervened to set standards and requirements in place that will ensure hospitals and health systems follow best practices to rapidly and drastically affect mothers’ and babies’ care. The Physical and Mental Health Subcommittee of Program Planning and Development for the Suburban Houston-Fort Bend Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, invites you to hear insights from medical professionals who have championed innovative ways to impact this disparity, where we need to go in terms of improvement, and most importantly — how to get there. Our guest panelists, Dr. Judy Levison (MD, MPH), Dr. Curisa Tucker (PhD, RN) and Marlyn Yvette Peters (WHNP-C, MSN) will help future healthcare providers (e.g. public health, medical and nursing students) understand where they can enter the care paradigm and impact disproportionate health outcomes for African American women. Topics for discussion include; Best practices in developing a culture of high reliability Approaches to providing patient education and support ( focusing on narratives from the implementation and modeling of Centering Pregnancy® in high risk populations) Reducing variation in care Considering various social determinants of health