CVS Health Foundation awards $6.6 million to improve maternal health

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The CVS Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CVS Health, has awarded $6.6 million in grants to remove barriers to maternal health services and expand the doula workforce. It is focusing its awards on three main entities: Massachusetts General Hospital, the American Heart Association and the March of Dimes.

Each grant will be focused on improving maternal health outcomes for historically marginalized communities by addressing the conditions most often associated with maternal mortality and severe morbidity, CVS said.

"Black women have a maternal mortality rate 2.6 times higher than white women, and studies continue to show that over 80% of maternal deaths in the U.S. could have been preventable," said Sheryl Burke, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and chief sustainability officer for CVS Health. "By collaborating locally with organizations who know the community best, we are working to diversify the doula workforce, and bring maternal health services and educational resources to the people that need it most."

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

Of the funds, $1.66 million over three years will go to support the Mass General Brigham DrEaMH (Driving Equity and Maternal Health outcomes) Initiative. This effort will expand the MGB Birth Partners Program and launch the Maternal Health Equity Postpartum Program in Suffolk County.

The programs aim to deliver maternal health services through a mobile van and increase access to doula care for people who are most likely to have adverse pregnancy outcomes during their third trimester and 12 weeks post-birth.

"To promote maternal health equity, we need to offer perinatal and postpartum services in a manner that is most accessible during and immediately after birth," said MGH Chief Community Health and Health Equity Officer Dr. Elsie Taveras. "These resources can set families up for a lifetime of physical and mental wellbeing and are vital to ensuring health equity in underserved populations."

About $4 million over five years will support March of Dimes' work to expand doula care regionally, diversify the doula workforce and provide educational materials to consumers and healthcare providers that highlight the benefits of doula care.

The doulas will focus on providing physical, emotional and informational support to pregnant people and their partners before, during and after childbirth. March of Dimes is actively researching where this program will have the greatest impact and will select six locations later this year to implement it.

Lastly, the CVS Health Foundation awarded the American Heart Association $1 million over two years to help address hypertension, which it called "a key risk factor in the most common killer of new mothers."

The program will link women and health care providers to hypertension education, monitoring and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum. It will use strategies, including doula-mediated referrals, to increase the percentage of Black birthing people with controlled hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and postpartum in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and Orlando, Florida.

THE LARGER TREND

Nearly a year ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invested about $20 million to reduce disparities in maternal and birth outcomes. The funding is meant to expand and diversify the workforce caring for pregnant and postpartum individuals, increase access to obstetrics care in rural communities, and support states in tackling inequities in maternal and infant health.

A study in Health Affairs published in February found that understanding the disparities faced by various racial and ethnic groups is key to addressing preterm births and low birth rates, which should spur action from payers, providers and lawmakers.

The link between race and maternal health has received increased attention in recent months. In September 2022, for example, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released data showing evidence that women of color are at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications, regardless of having commercial health insurance or Medicaid.

Instead, the numbers indicate U.S. maternal health disparities are likely the result of broader health system and societal challenges, including underlying chronic conditions, racial inequities and likely biases within the healthcare system itself.
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: Jeff.Lagasse@himssmedia.com