Initiative will address racial disparities
by providing maternal hypertension and hemorrhage simulation
training in 49 hospitals, and testing remote patient monitoring for
expectant mothers through Regional One Health
UnitedHealthcare and Nashville-based Tennessee Initiative for
Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC) today announced a maternal health
initiative aimed at improving maternal and infant health outcomes
and equity throughout the state. With $280,000 in funding from
UnitedHealthcare, the initiative will focus on maternal
hypertension and hemorrhage simulation training for hospitals in
Tennessee and support remote monitoring capabilities for perinatal
patients.
“It is unacceptable that Black women in the U.S. have at least
twice the rate of severe maternal morbidity, and are at least three
times as likely to die from pregnancy related complications,
compared to white women,” said Keith Payet, CEO, UnitedHealthcare
Community Plan of Tennessee. “We hope this new partnership is an
important step toward addressing a leading cause of severe maternal
morbidity and helps improve health outcomes in Tennessee.”
Hospitals across the state that will provide train-the-trainer
model training for maternal and infant clinical staff by county
include those in: Bedford, Blount, Cocke, Cumberland, Davidson,
Dickson, Dyer, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Knox,
Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Obion, Overton, Putnam, Robertson,
Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Smith, Sullivan, Sumner, Tipton,
Warren, Washington, Weakley, Williamson and Wilson, with additional
anticipated.
“Simulation training has proven to be beneficial in improving
outcomes of high-risk pregnancy conditions. Standardization of
treatment and protocols has been shown to decrease maternal
mortality and morbidity in all patients, with the largest
improvement in outcomes in women of color," said Dr. Connie Graves,
TIPQC statewide project lead. "UnitedHealthcare’s decision to
support a statewide simulation effort means that we can improve
care for all pregnancies across the state of Tennessee and decrease
disparities for both mother and babies.”
Additionally, UnitedHealthcare and Regional One Health will
implement remote patient monitoring to determine its ability to
improve access to care by activating Babyscripts, a prenatal app
and mobile clinical tool that allows OB-GYN to remotely monitor the
progress and health of pregnant patients.
“One of the biggest contributors to health inequity in
obstetrics, especially in Black women, is lack of access to
adequate health care. The pandemic has proven telehealth is a very
effective way of providing health care to patients who would
otherwise be without means," said Dr. Danielle Tate, OB-GYN,
Regional One Health. "Programs like Babyscripts are great resources
to aid in providing this type of care through real-time home
monitoring and communication using state-of-the-art technology.
UnitedHealthcare’s decision to collaborate with Babyscripts speaks
volumes to its commitment to ensuring healthy communities and
eliminating disparities.”
UnitedHealthcare recognizes that poor maternal health outcomes
remain high among women in the U.S., and that Black women and
infants share a disproportionate share of adverse outcomes.
According to March of Dimes, Tennessee ranks above average in the
preterm birth rate, at 11.2% compared to the national average of
10.2%, and the preterm birth rate among Black women is 14.7%. This
is 44% higher than the rate among all other women. Additionally,
the maternal mortality rate in Tennessee is among the worst in the
nation at 26.2 per 100,000 live births. Tennessee also has one of
the highest infant mortality rates in the country, with the CDC
reporting 563 infant deaths since 2019. This ranks Tennessee 45th
out of the 50 states.
This initiative is one of several that UnitedHealthcare, along
with its parent company UnitedHealth Group, is launching to address
maternal health outcomes throughout the United States. Recent
initiatives include more than $5 million in recent philanthropic
grants to support maternal health, and $2.85 million in support to
March of Dimes for a public-private partnership with the Department
of Health and Human Services that aims to reduce the Black-white
disparity gap and improve maternal health outcomes. Earlier this
year, UnitedHealthcare also announced more than $276,000 in
maternal health grants to six community organizations in Tennessee.
These grants provided support to programs addressing maternal
health outcomes, reducing disparities, and expanding access to
care.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier
lives and making the health system work better for everyone by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full
spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with
more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500
hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also
provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned
and operated health care facilities in South America.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC
on Twitter.
About TIPQC
The Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC) is
the state’s perinatal quality collaborative. The goal of TIPQC is
to improve health outcomes for mothers and infants in Tennessee by
engaging key stakeholders in data-driven performance improvement
initiatives. TIPQC's membership, which numbers over 2000, includes
neonatologists, obstetricians, nurses, hospital administrators,
families, insurers, business leaders, and community advocacy groups
from Johnson City to Memphis. If you would like more information
about TIPQC, please visit our website at www.TIPQC.org where you
will learn about our efforts to improve outcomes of pregnancy and
the health of Tennessee's youngest citizens.
Understanding Tennessee is particularly impacted by this public
health crisis, this work will support TIPQC in dissemination of
their initiatives to improve the care system and ensure all women –
regardless of race and/or ethnicity – receive safe and equitable
care during, and after pregnancy.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210804005135/en/
Isaac Sorensen isaac.sorensen@uhc.com (952) 931-5705
Grafico Azioni UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Storico
Da Mar 2024 a Apr 2024
Grafico Azioni UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Storico
Da Apr 2023 a Apr 2024