New Jersey Black Maternal & Infant Health Leadership Summit

On September 26, 2018, I received a letter from New Jersey’s First Lady, Tammy Murphy, inviting me to attend a Black Maternal & Infant Health Leadership Summit. Her invitation read:

New mothers in New Jersey are dying on average at a faster rate than the rest of the nation. For mothers and babies of color, the issue is even more dire as New Jersey has the widest racial disparity in the country ….

We will use our time efficiently pairing unlikely partners—legislators, providers, cabinet officials, non-profits, foundations, healthcare systems, etc.—to tackle some of the most pressing issues. It is my hope that through a working group discussion we together are able to start identifying short, medium and long-term solutions.

I was hoping and praying that this was the beginning of serious action, including funding for programs like KinderSmile Perinatal Health & Wellness Program, and other proven methods of increasing access to care for underserved families, especially those of color.

According to ACNJ’s 2018 Babies Count data report, 35% of black mothers receive little to no prenatal care. This creates a serious cycle of health maladies, including oral health issues. My intention of attending the leadership summit was to represent KinderSmile Foundation and its collaborative community partners, in order to share the amazing impact that interprofessional teamwork makes on progressing oral health equity.

I was also looking forward to learning from fellow leaders how to better identify and serve black mothers specifically, as the Perinatal Health & Wellness Program currently has very low participation from black mothers (14.9% of total 2018 enrollment). The KinderSmile Foundation team recognizes that each racial or ethnic group faces different barriers to accessing oral health care, and we want to come up with solutions for breaking down these barriers for all races. What could we do differently to make our services accessible to the black community? How could we ensure that black moms were “at the table” in our discussions about solving oral health equity?

Outcomes of the Group Discussion

With so many leaders of different functions from across the entire state, we were able to name some actionable items for addressing the racial gap in black maternal & infant health of New Jersey. Here are the top ten suggestions of the summit:

1. Identify that institutional racism does exist, and there is racial bias against poor, black mothers.
2. Expand state policy to continue Medicaid-eligibility at least 60 days beyond mothers’ date of delivery.
3. Identify and address the unique barriers which black mothers face in accessing health care.
4. Fund more grassroots organizations and “boots on the ground” programs.
5. Share data between providers and family-service programs.
6. Screen for recent pregnancy in the pre-assessment/intake at federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs), hospitals and other medical programs.
7. Explore how to identify and assist undocumented mothers.
8. Integrate mental health and oral health programs as an important piece of total health & wellness.
9. Leverage existing resources through re-branding and increased marketing.
10. Use community health workers as messengers.

I look forward to sharing these suggestions with other health-equity stakeholders on the state and local-levels. My service as the President of the Essex County Dental Society and on the boards of ACNJ (Advocates for Children of New Jersey), The Montclair Branch NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), and the Medicaid and Oral Health 2025 advisory committees for New Jersey Department of Health afford me the opportunity to continue this conversation around black maternal & infant health and oral health equity. There is much work to be done, but we can do it with partnership! You know what I always say … #ItTakesAVillage💙