Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital recognized for excellent Black patient outcomes for maternal health
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — The Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital was recognized for its success in supporting Black maternity health by the U.S. News & World Report.
In honor of Black Maternity Health Week (BMHW), U.S. News identified hospitals that were rated High Performing in “U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care,” served at least 20 Black patients per year, and had newborn complication rates of less than 2.62%, c-section rates of less than 23.9% or 23.6% among Black patients.
The Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital was recognized among 25 additional “high-performing” hospitals across 13 states. The Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, in Charlottesville, and Roanoke Memorial were the only two hospitals in Virginia to join the list.
“This recognition speaks to our care team’s dedication and compassion. We believe that all women deserve high quality, patient-centered obstetric care, and we are focused on health equity as a way to address the national disparities observed in black maternal mortality,” said Dr. Isaiah Johnson, the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
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April 11 kicked off Black Maternal Health Week to bring attention and action on improving health for Black patients during maternity. According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.
Several factors contribute to these disparities including variations in quality health care, chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias.
“I think there has been growing awareness of the problem as the data has been better in terms of being more accurate. I think maternal mortality across Southwest Virginia and really the Commonwealth is not where anybody would like for it to be and certainly within our black birthing population we have work to be done,” explained Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Johnson says over the last 15 years, the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital has focused on quality improvement and clearly outlining the type of care that will be provided to patients.
“The goal is to have patients receiving the same level of care and the same care pathways regardless of who they are as an individual,” shared Dr. Johnson.
BMHW, founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, is held every April along with National Minority Health Month. 2024 marks the 7th annual observation of Black Maternal Health Week.
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