Boston, Feb. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI) announced its support today for the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021, a comprehensive federal legislation package sponsored by Representatives Lauren Underwood and Alma Adams, Senator Cory Booker and members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. Building on existing legislation, like policies to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, the Momnibus Act of 2021 is composed of 12 bills to fill gaps to comprehensively address every dimension of America’s maternal health crisis through effective, evidence-based and culturally congruent solutions.
“Centering Healthcare Institute is proud to endorse this comprehensive legislative effort to address the Black maternal health crisis in our country,” said Angie Truesdale, Chief Executive Officer at CHI. “Inherent in the Centering model is the principle that we must break down power differentials and elevate lived experiences to deliver equitable healthcare. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 provides several provisions, including the Moms Matter, Kira Johnson and Perinatal Workforce acts, that would significantly advance the effort to mainstream and resource equitable healthcare, and most importantly, save lives.”
Black women continue to experience deep disparities in birth outcomes and are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. The Act makes investments in social determinants of health, community-based organizations, the growth and diversification of the perinatal workforce, improvements in data collection, and support for moms and babies exposed to climate change-related risks.
CHI is committed to advocate for policies that prioritize the health of moms and babies. Its evidence-based CenteringPregnancy®️ model of group prenatal care is known to improve birth outcomes and flatten racial disparities particularly for African American women, who continue to experience deep disparities in birth outcomes.
CHI welcomes the new titles in the Act to address the risks to pregnant women and supports all provisions in the bill including:
- Moms Matter Act - invests in community based programs and maternity care models that provide mental and behavioral health support to moms. The act aims to put federal resources towards elevating focus on maternal mental health and group prenatal and postpartum care models. It will also provide funding for programs to grow the workforce to expand access to culturally congruent care.
- Kira Johnson Act - makes investments in community-based organizations that are leading the charge to support moms. The bill also supports bias and racism training programs, research and the establishment of Respectful Maternity Care Compliance Programs to address bias and racism and to promote accountability in maternity care settings.
- Perinatal Workforce Act - establishes grant programs to increase the number of maternity care providers and non-clinical perinatal health workers who offer culturally congruent support to women throughout their pregnancies, labor and delivery and the postpartum period.
- Tech for Moms - makes investments to promote the integration and development of telehealth and other digital tools to reduce maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity and close racial and ethnic gaps in maternal health outcomes.
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About Centering Healthcare Institute:
CHI is a national non-profit organization with a mission to improve health, transform care and disrupt inequitable systems through the Centering group model which combines health assessment, interactive learning and community building to help support positive health behaviors and drive better health outcomes. CenteringPregnancy® and CenteringParenting® provide the highest quality of care to families from pregnancy through age two of the child. The CenteringHealthcare® model of care serves many different health conditions including groups for asthma, diabetes, opioid recovery, cancer survivors, chronic pain and other patient populations. Currently, Centering is offered across 550 healthcare practice sites in the country. Visit www.centeringhealthcare.org for more information.