Texas Awarded $3 Million to Support Review, Reduction of Maternal Deaths

News Release
September 12, 2019

The Texas Department of State Health Services will receive a federal grant to support the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee and its efforts to reduce maternal deaths in Texas.

The grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide up to $3 million over five years so the committee can review more recent maternal deaths and share detailed information from those reviews with researchers through a national data system.

“It’s exciting that we’ll be able to review cases much closer to real time and get a better idea of what’s affecting women’s health now,” said Dr. Manda Hall, committee member and DSHS associate commissioner for community health improvement. “And the ability to securely store and more quickly analyze data about maternal deaths will allow us to create more effective initiatives to reduce deaths.”

Earlier this year, the Texas Legislature added $7 million to the state budget to address maternal deaths. Those funds will let DSHS expand its TexasAIM partnership with hospitals, which works to reduce maternal deaths and complications from specific, preventable causes identified through case review. DSHS will also use the state dollars to develop a tool to help health care professionals assess a woman’s risk for pregnancy complications and to create a campaign educating professionals and communities about the risk factors.

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(News Media Contact: Chris Van Deusen, DSHS Director of Media Relations, 512-776-7119)