IMPH launches rural maternal and infant care taskforce
August 2, 2024
Taskforce will develop action plan to improve outcomes for rural SC mothers and infants
The South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health (IMPH), an independent, nonprofit organization working to collectively inform policy to improve health and health care in South Carolina, is launching a taskforce focused on rural maternal and infant care. This statewide planning process, led by Taskforce Chair Dr. Lisa Waddell, will focus on improving outcomes for rural South Carolina mothers and infants.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health (SCDPH), South Carolina’s maternal mortality rates have risen to double the national average. The state continues to have poor maternal and infant health outcomes, currently ranking eighth highest for maternal mortality and fifth highest for infant mortality compared to other states.
These trends reflect extreme racial and urban/rural disparities. According to SCDPH‘s most recent Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee Legislative Brief, Black women in South Carolina were 4.2 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women in 2020.
“Current statistics do not reflect the significant amount of attention and resources that providers, funders and advocates have devoted to this issue in recent years,” says Maya Pack, Executive Director at IMPH. “This taskforce will build upon their work and develop a plan to improve health outcomes through increased access to care for families statewide.”
The taskforce will create a 10-year action plan that will be available in April 2025. For more information, visit the taskforce webpage.
Taskforce funders include the BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation (an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association), The Duke Endowment, Absolute Total Care, the Medical University of South Carolina, Prisma Health, Clemson University School of Health Research, the South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium, the South Carolina Office of Rural Health and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.
About IMPH
The South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health (IMPH) is an independent, nonprofit organization working to collectively inform policy to improve health and health care in South Carolina. IMPH provides nonpartisan, evidence-based information to guide policymakers in making impactful health policy decisions. Learn more at imph.org.