Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) in Valhalla recently launched its Center for Women”™s Health Equity, a new care program that will address the social, economic, cultural and racial determinants of health that can result in increased maternal morbidity and mortality among women across the Hudson Valley. Supported by a $750,000 New York state grant secured by New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and with the support of New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the members of the New York State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul, the WMCHealth Center for Women”™s Health Equity has locations at Westchester Medical Center in Westchester County and another at HealthAlliance Hospital in Ulster County.
The Center for Women”™s Health Equity will be the first program of its kind based in New York state”™s Hudson Valley region and will have an initial aim of reducing the leading causes of death among pregnant women by integrating specialists in maternal-fetal medicine, whose expertise is the care of complex medical problems affecting pregnant women, with its heart and vascular program clinicians to take a more proactive and holistic view of elevated risk factors among women, particularly those of color.
“WMCHealth”™s vital mission is to provide the highest-quality care for all residents of the Hudson Valley and we expect the Center for Women”™s Health Equity to help improve outcomes for the women WMCHealth serves,” said Michael D. Israel, president and CEO, WMCHealth.“We expect the Center for Women”™s Health Equity to be a model for other health networks across the country to follow and would like to thank our New York state representatives for having the foresight to make such a significant investment in this important program.”
Addressing maternal mortality is an urgent health risk particularly in the United States, where in 2021 the mortality rate was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, more than 10 times the estimated rates of some other high-income countries, driven largely by significant disparities in health outcomes experienced by minority women. The situation is especially dire in New York state, where Black, non-Hispanic women are up to five times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than White non-Hispanic women.
To ensure resources are available to all women, particularly those at the highest risk, WMCHealth”™s Center for Women”™s Health Equity will be staffed with multilingual social workers trained in cultural sensitivities who will help women navigate care pathways across WMCHealth and engage with community-based partners for enhanced care. This collaborative approach will result in regular case reviews to determine individualized treatment plans to prevent more complex, and costly, complications down the line.
In the coming year, the WMCHealth Center for Women”™s Health Equity will expand to include preventative oncological support to address increased risk of breast and gynecological cancers with an emphasis on cervical cancer, which still imposes a high burden on Black and Hispanic populations.
The program is accessible today in Westchester County at 19 Bradhurst Ave. in Hawthorne or by calling 914-493-2250 and in Ulster County at 373 Broadway Ave. in Kingston or by calling 845-303-1132. For additional information, visit WMCHealth.org/Womens-Health-Equity.
