Invitation from the Office of the Governor
On September 26, 2018, Dr. Nicole received a letter from New Jersey’s First Lady, Tammy Murphy, inviting her to attend a Black Maternal and 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.
Dr. Nicole hoped and prayed that this was the beginning of serious action, including funding for programs like KinderSmile Perinatal Health and Wellness Program, and other proven methods of increasing access to care for underserved families, especially the Black and Brown communities.
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. Her intention of attending the leadership summit was to represent KinderSmile Foundation and its collaborative community partners, in order to share the impact that interprofessional teamwork makes on progressing oral health equity.
She looked forward to learning from fellow leaders how to better identify and serve Black mothers specifically, as the Perinatal Health and 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?
Dr. Nicole entered the Governor’s Mansion on October 4th with data, objectives, and questions in hand. There were many familiar faces during breakfast, including the Executive Director of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Marsha Atkind (pictured), who has been an advocate for improving health outcomes for underserved families for decades. HFNJ has sponsored 150 uninsured moms to receive oral health education and free dental care through the Perinatal Health and Wellness Program, and Marsha herself referred First Lady Murphy to visit KinderSmile Foundation over the summer.
There were more than 120 attendees of the Leadership Summit, including representatives from Horizon, Wellcare, and Amerigroup health plans; community organizations; health care providers; politicians and legislators. The diverse group of leaders came prepared to brainstorm, establish partnerships, and build new collaborations that could break down the barriers of access to health care, and ultimately save the lives of vulnerable Black mothers and their babies. It was time to get to work!
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 and infant health of New Jersey. Here are the top ten suggestions of the Summit:
- Identify that institutional racism does exist, and there is racial bias against poor, Black mothers.
- Expand state policy to continue Medicaid-eligibility at least 60 days beyond mothers’ dates of delivery.
- Identify and address the unique barriers that Black mothers face in accessing health care.
- Fund more grassroots organizations and “boots on the ground” programs.
- Share data between providers and family-service programs.
- Screen recent pregnancies in the pre-assessment/intake triage at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), hospitals and other medical programs.
- Explore how to identify and assist undocumented mothers.
- Integrate mental health and oral health programs as an important piece of total health and wellness.
- Leverage existing resources through re-branding and increased marketing.
- Expand community health workers programs.
Dr. Nicole looks forward to sharing these suggestions with other health-equity stakeholders on the state and local-levels. Her 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 her the opportunity to continue this conversation around Black maternal and infant health and oral health equity. There is much work to be done, but we can do it with partnership! #ItTakesAVillageKSF
