MercyOne is announcing a maternal health campaign with Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority. The busing service is serving as a mobile billboard, creatively connecting women to essential pregnancy services. Several of the specialty DART buses and shelters are located along specifically identified routes throughout the City of Des Moines, areas where there are more concentrated numbers of underrepresented individuals including on the city's north, east and southeast sides."We did a focus group and we asked women what are some of the barriers," says MercyOne Director of Health Equity Jacquie Easley McGee. "They shared with us transportation being a barrier targeting some specific zip codes in the community." The maternal health crisis disproportionality affects Black women and their babies. According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. They are also more likely to experience a stillbirth, the loss of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Health care experts say this maternal health campaign is meant to help educate women in the city's most vulnerable areas, it's also to assure women of color will be heard by their physicians. MercyOne was the first hospital group in the country to receive respectful maternity care training from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. "Bringing this education to our team has allowed them to gain knowledge and assist them in caring for families with unique cultural backgrounds," says Maria Nelson, Director of Women's and Children's Services at MercyOne.The campaign will roll through city streets for the next several months. " Subscribe to KCCI's YouTube page" Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
MercyOne is announcing a maternal health campaign with Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority. The busing service is serving as a mobile billboard, creatively connecting women to essential pregnancy services.
Several of the specialty DART buses and shelters are located along specifically identified routes throughout the City of Des Moines, areas where there are more concentrated numbers of underrepresented individuals including on the city's north, east and southeast sides.
"We did a focus group and we asked women what are some of the barriers," says MercyOne Director of Health Equity Jacquie Easley McGee. "They shared with us transportation being a barrier targeting some specific zip codes in the community."
The maternal health crisis disproportionality affects Black women and their babies. According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. They are also more likely to experience a stillbirth, the loss of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Health care experts say this maternal health campaign is meant to help educate women in the city's most vulnerable areas, it's also to assure women of color will be heard by their physicians. MercyOne was the first hospital group in the country to receive respectful maternity care training from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.
"Bringing this education to our team has allowed them to gain knowledge and assist them in caring for families with unique cultural backgrounds," says Maria Nelson, Director of Women's and Children's Services at MercyOne.
The campaign will roll through city streets for the next several months.