WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), released the following statement applauding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for funding a Maternal Mortality Review Committee in Nevada. The five-year Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program will provide Nevada with funding to continue studying pregnancy-related deaths and identify prevention opportunities.
“The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries,” said Senator Rosen. “Nevada is no exception, with the rate of pregnancy-related deaths slightly higher than the national average, and disproportionately impacting women of color. I am glad the CDC is providing funding for the Maternal Mortality Review Committee to do a deeper dive into the data on our state, so that we may eliminate disparities and improve maternal health in all of our communities.”
BACKGROUND: The Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program is currently providing funding for 31 states. This funding directly supports agencies and organizations that coordinate and manage Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) to identify, review, and characterize pregnancy-related deaths; and identify prevention opportunities. Through this work, CDC aims to do the following:
- Facilitate an understanding of the drivers of maternal mortality and complications of pregnancy, and better understand the associated disparities.
- Determine what interventions at patient, provider, facility, system, and community levels will have the most impact.
- Implement initiatives in the right places for families and communities who need them most.
MMRCs are multidisciplinary committees in states and cities that perform comprehensive reviews of deaths among women, within a year of the end of pregnancy. They include representatives from public health, obstetrics and gynecology, maternal-fetal medicine, nursing, midwifery, forensic pathology, mental and behavioral health, patient advocacy groups, and community-based organizations.
This funding will support the existing MMRC in Nevada, which was created in 2019.
In February of this year, Senator Rosen re-introduced the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act, bipartisan legislation that would utilize data mapping to show where high rates of poor maternal health outcomes overlap with lack of access to broadband services in order to help identify where improved access to telehealth services can be most effective. It passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in April.
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