Grant to Prevent Maternal Deaths and Severe Pregnancy Complications across Maryland Awarded to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was awarded a grant to improve the quality of maternal health care across the state of Maryland. The 5-year, $10.3 million award from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, will fund the creation of the Maryland Maternal Health Innovation Program. Program Director Andreea Creanga, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School, will lead a team from across the Johns Hopkins University as well as the Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Patient Safety Center, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

The program’s overall goal is to eliminate preventable maternal deaths and severe pregnancy complications in Maryland. To improve the quality of maternal health care, the program will work to strengthen hospital-based quality improvement efforts and train providers on early recognition of warning signs for severe complications and reduction of implicit bias. In addition, the project will develop a perinatal telemedicine program to quickly connect experts in obstetric specialties with community and rural hospitals throughout the state. To address disparities in maternal health, the program will partner with home visiting programs across the state to increase women’s knowledge and access to care for maternal complications. The project will also develop a state-wide dashboard to better disseminate maternal health statistics and improve evidence-based decision making. The work will be coordinated through the establishment of the Maryland Maternal Health Task Force whose members will include officials from state governments and agencies, as well as professional organizations, providers, payers, patient advocacy groups, community organizations.

Creanga is the associate director of the International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health at the Bloomberg School and an associate faculty at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. Her research focuses on perinatal quality and safety both domestically and internationally. She has received numerous professional honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the United States Government, Executive Office of the President.