Collaborating to Improve Health Outcomes for Expecting Moms and Newborns  

The March of Dimes released a report in early September detailing maternity care access nationwide and found 35 percent of counties are maternity care deserts. This means there is limited or no access to services such as birthing hospitals and obstetric providers. According to the data, Arkansas is one of the states with the highest percentage of maternity care deserts with more than half of our counties lacking access to these critical resources. Maternal health care is truly a crisis in our state and across the country.

The good news is we can change this troubling statistic. Among medical providers, non-profit organizations and elected leaders, there is a shared urgency to elevate maternal care in Arkansas.

In recent days, the Strategic Committee for Maternal Health, established by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders to craft a statewide plan aimed at improving outcomes for mothers and babies, released its report recommending policies and program enhancements. These include improving access to care through telehealth and mobile units, establishing a school of midwifery and expanding prenatal services in local health units.

I am grateful for the governor’s leadership to improve outcomes for vulnerable moms and babies.

We have built momentum this year to make positive changes, starting with bringing experts together to discuss opportunities to better serve the prenatal and postpartum needs in our state.

In February, I hosted the first in a series of maternal health roundtables. It featured meaningful discussions about the state of maternal health from a clinical perspective with medical professionals. In order to address outstanding health care disparities and work toward tangible solutions in the state, we must continue having these productive conversations.

That’s why we followed that up with a roundtable in Bentonville in August with a panel of experts discussing ongoing initiatives and potential solutions for improving maternal health outcomes by bolstering the workforce caring for these patients.

This dialogue is essential to moving us in the right direction. In Northwest Arkansas we discussed creating a pathway for doula and community health worker reimbursement in Medicaid. The Strategic Committee for Maternal Health recommended that very course of action, which is a welcome development.

The committee also proposed applying for the Transforming Maternal Health federal grant. I’m pleased to lead the Arkansas Congressional Delegation in supporting this request in writing to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator so expecting moms can benefit from better care and newborns have a healthy start in life.

I’m also championing federal investments to address maternal and infant health workforce shortages and enhance access to prenatal services in underserved areas of our state.

A comprehensive approach consisting of public-private partnerships that collaborate and contribute different areas of experience and expertise in pursuit of improving maternal health is underway.

There is a broad spectrum of medical providers in the maternal health space. Emphasizing the strengths of each and fostering coordination throughout the different stages of pregnancy and postpartum care is essential to improving the health and wellness of Natural State mothers and infants.

We have a long way to go, but we are on the right path. I look forward to continue working with my colleagues at the state and federal levels to support policies that can help save lives in Arkansas.