Carson City July 22, 2021
Nevada’s Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Section has been awarded more than $147,000 a year for the next three years to support statewide efforts to improve birth outcomes.
Nevada was chosen as an Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program state and the funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will support Nevada’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) efforts to tell the story of what is causing maternal mortality in Nevada and how to best prevent it. This is one of several statewide initiatives to end preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.
MCAH and CDC will work to gain a better understanding of the causes of maternal mortality and complications of pregnancy, including associated disparities. The ERASE MM grant provides sustainability by allowing MCAH to fund staffing for the length of the grant to conduct ongoing, comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal mortality data and information in Nevada.
Nevada MMRC support staff will analyze available data to provide information on the pregnancy-related maternal mortality ratio, counts, causes and distribution of deaths by age, ethnicity, race and rurality using an equity and disparity lens. Additionally, MCAH, CDC and local partners can gain a better understanding of what interventions will have the greatest impact by evaluating contributing factors and offering training and educational opportunities to Nevada communities from leading experts.
“This is a great opportunity for our state and the families we serve,” MCAH Section Manager Vickie Ives said. “Preventing maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity for Nevada families is a key priority for the Department, and through ERASE MM we strive to provide evidence-based resources to health care providers and birth advocates statewide to reduce preventable maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity.”
Maternal mortality rates in the United States and Nevada are increasing at an alarming rate. According to the CDC, nationally about 700 individuals die every year from maternal complications, and at least 60% of maternal mortality incidents are preventable. Further, people of color experience disparities of three to four times higher rates of maternal mortality. For Nevada-specific data, please review the 2018-2020 Maternal Mortality Review Committee Report here.
In the past several years, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services has worked with partners statewide on this issue and in 2019 the MMRC was established. The 2021 Session of the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 119 adding further review of disparities in the incidence of maternal mortality by the Nevada MMRC, and added the Office of Minority Health and Equity Advisory Board as a collaborating partner.
About MMRCs
MMRCs are multidisciplinary committees in states and cities that perform comprehensive review of deaths among women, within a year of the end of pregnancy. CDC works with MMRCs to improve review processes that lead to actionable recommendations for preventing future deaths. The expansion of ERASE MM states represents a step forward in our joint work to eliminate preventable maternal mortality.
For more information go to https://dpbh.nv.gov/Programs/Maternal,_Child_and_Adolescent_Health_(MCH)/.