UI Health Hosts Community Leaders to Address Crisis in Child and Maternal Health
The West Side United Legislative Breakfast brought together legislators, healthcare practitioners and community leaders for strategic collaboration.
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On Friday, June 13, West Side United convened a legislative breakfast at the University of Illinois Chicago’s health sciences campus. The second annual convening was hosted by the university’s academic health enterprise, UI Health, and centered on addressing maternal and child health on Chicago’s West Side. As a founding partner hospital with West Side United, UI Health was host to panel discussions that featured experts from across the healthcare system, including additional voices from Rush Medical Center, Sinai Chicago, Lurie Children’s Hospital and Cook County Health System. This gathering was an opportunity to bring together the energies of community representatives and organizational leaders alongside those of legislative officials in attendance such as Illinois State Senator Lakesia Collins and 24th Ward Alderwoman Monique Scott.
“West Side United plays a critical role in galvanizing the resources, ideas and people who are committed to seeing our neighborhoods thrive,” shared West Side United executive director, Ayesha Jaco. “Since its founding, it has evolved and grown into a collaborative coalition that brings together resources and assets like healthcare organizations, local leaders and residents alike to drive economic investment and improved health outcomes.”
The event was co-moderated by Jaco and UIC School of Public Health Dean, Dr. Wayne Giles. As a lead on West Side United’s data committee, Giles represented the continued life expectancy gaps that exist between Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood and West Side communities that are the focus of WSU’s mission.
“Drivers of health such as chronic disease, diabetes, access to care, policy issues, and maternal/child health are indicators to how healthy our communities are and their ability to thrive,” stated Giles. “Looking at the issues of our local neighborhoods through the lens of maternal and child health will allow us to dive deeper into the complexities of public health, while also thinking through practical solutions to address the needs of those we serve.”
The panel discussions featured an spectrum of expertise including: UI Health Chief Diversity & Community Health Officer, Rani Williams; Department of Medicine Head and PI on the Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence, Dr. Rachel Caskey; Executive Director of the Mile Square Health Center, Karriem Watson; Professor and Associate Head of Clinical Affairs, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dr. Gloria Elam; Assistant Professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Urology, Bea Penalver Bernabe; and one of the lead investigators of the Melanated Midwives Study Program, Kylea Liese.
In addition to the UI Health representatives on the panel, the discussion also featured well-known figures from other partner hospitals including: obstetrician and Chair of the Illinois Maternal Mortality Review Committee, Dr. Robin Jones (Rush Medical Center); attending physician of Neonatology Dr. Tonia Branche (Lurie Children’s); obstetrician and director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic, Dr. Charles Lampley (Sinai Chicago) and executive administrator for Women and Children’s Services at Cook County Health, Christina Urbina.
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The morning event covered a range of topics including foundational knowledge of the maternal mortality and morbidity rates across the United States, experiential causes for these current rates, programmatic and clinical interventions which aim to support birthing people and babies, and systemic ways to shape enhanced partnerships to better provide care. Common themes that arose throughout the conversation included the need for trust, enhanced communication, and better practices that can be brought into the clinical environment to support maternal and child health.
“Every time I come to these meetings, I learn something new,” said Senator Collins. “It’s important to focus on the advocacy and education of the mother and baby. As a mother myself, it’s important to have education for new mothers to help them increase their quality of life through a holistic approach to health and wellness.”
“West Side businesses, health organizations and community organizations can come together to address social determinants of health, specifically around maternal and infant mortality, by joining West Side United,” stated Jaco. “As an existing health equity collaborative, we have set the table that has a myriad of partners through our West Side Healthy Parents and Babies program provides wrap-around supports for mothers in the pre-natal through post-natal journey – to standardize care, share data and create better outcomes for parents and families.”
