Westchester County Executive George Latimer is marking Black Maternal Health Week, and reaffirming his commitment to end the health crisis. This week, and always, Latimer is encouraging residents to participate in the County’s new and ongoing initiatives that are designed to improve Black maternal and child health outcomes, reduce healthcare inequities and create lasting partnerships with key community partners.
The Black Maternal Child Health Initiative includes a partnership with Birth from the Earth, the Children’s Health Research Foundation/Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network, and St. John’s Riverside Hospital.
Latimer said: “Last month, I pledged an additional $1 million to extend these programs through the end of 2025, in addition to allocating an annual funding of $3 million to federally qualified health centers. Obtaining prenatal care is the foundation for a healthy start in life, and these programs will help make it more accessible. Maternal child health equity is an important goal for Westchester families, and I am pleased to contribute this additional funding to our partners.”
Westchester County Health Commissioner, Sherlita Amler, MD, said: “Westchester County spearheaded this innovative initiative in collaboration with community organizations and grassroots health providers. Thanks to these programs, hundreds of Westchester families now have access to essential prenatal and postpartum care and support.”
- Birth from the Earth offers prenatal/birthing consultations, group prenatal sessions and post-partum support groups. In 2023, nearly 90 birth workers attended trainings and more than 80 families were served. For more information, please go to birthfromtheearth.org.
- The Children’s Health Research Foundation/Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network is expanding prenatal and postpartum home-visits for residents in areas where adverse birth outcomes such as low-birthweight and premature births are more common. A Baby Café also offers home visits and breastfeeding support. Last year, 51 families were enrolled in the home visiting program and more than 979 parent visits were made to Baby Cafes. For more information, please go to hudsonvalleychrf.org.
- John’s Riverside Hospital Maternity Department is working to help strengthen data analytics, and administrative and program capacity of their health equity initiatives. The aim is to identify areas of improvement to improve birth outcomes for Black women, using focus groups and data analysis. More than 150 hospital medical and administrative staff have participated in implicit bias training. For more information, please go to www.riversidehealth.org.