Texas saw an approximate 63% increase in maternal mortality between 2018 and 2020. The rate remains high at 24.2 deaths per 100,000 live births. (Nadia L/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)
Health care systems and organizations are working together across north Texas to improve maternal health outcomes.
Episcopal Health Foundation, the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – along with other hospitals, clinics, and community organizations – have formed the North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator.
Episcopal Health Foundation President and CEO Ann Barnes said their goal is to break down barriers that could lead to pregnancy complications.
“Our research has proven that what happens outside the doctor’s office – like housing, food and transportation – can matter just as much as medical care,” said Barnes. “One study showed that those non-medical challenges nearly doubled the likelihood of a high-risk pregnancy in Texas.”
$770 million in costs are billed to Medicaid each year in Texas because of high-risk pregnancies.
The accelerator was initially designed as a federally matched pilot project, but funds were impacted by cuts to federal funding.
EHF invested $3 million to help launch the program. Barnes said they will monitor successes to show how much money the model saves compared to its cost.
“We are also investing in a financial return on investment analysis of the North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator model,” said Barnes, “to show how much money the model saves compared to what it costs helping make the case for future state support to replicate it.”
The accelerator’s first initiative focuses on postpartum hemorrhage, which is the most common obstetric complication across north Texas. More than 60 clinics in Tarrant and Dallas counties are providing free prenatal iron supplements to mothers.
Barnes said the program is an example of how simple interventions can change outcomes.
“We’re talking about tackling the policies, practices and resources that shape health before a mom ever walks into a clinic,” said Barnes. “Because if a mother can’t get prenatal iron, get to her appointment, or can’t afford to feed the family. That’s not a personal failure – it’s a systems failure.”
Related: ‘Texas law forced me to choose: Watch my baby die or flee my home for medical help’
